JCSTICES OF THK PEACE. 



JUSTICIAR OF SCOTLAND. 



c*jlh> ia the r*t iartaai. lfa*ummooi U ksjued ta the flret IneUoo* 

 I th*. i* Ih. I J mod. of pfOOs*dia). .ad it U not ^obeyed the 

 we* me* h*r I**** a warraat or proceed a* **. W ben. how- 



U_ illnll-' T *' < jostioM i* by Uw to be made ur 



swfe there's. aea*r-sHy far Issuing aay summons. In cases of com 



VtMsrte tjpoa wbieh the Justin* may make aa order for payment of 



Me.orVlherwise.it i* act ainaary that the complaint should be 



b iiilaM There i* sktuhw power tn compel the srtendann* of wit- 



___._rU uuu at hlMniVlT -f Every onmpUinl and informa 



boa b heard aad ililamle.nl by ooe or more justice* (unlee* aay 

 sjlfcuku Art require* aMre than oae) ia opea court, and both partie* 

 My appear by eoual ur U.iroey. General forme of conviction, and 

 oraWofTrV.-. to prerwt the numerous teehaicol objection, to 

 whtsh they were previously often opea. The conviction* or orders 

 may be enf creed by distress or anprisuament in default (ace aleo 81 ft 

 tJ Vtrt. . 7>. a. 6). or, ia the ant instance, according to the nature 

 sod jariunuaiicri of the owe and the special provisions relating to it 

 TV justteea have ahw feaeral power* to award oast*, which are also 



*TT* 



ether 



***! ii nf iiiaVirr r-Ti-t-f ' ~ ' . p-^- -" ^-- with 



of jusunss in point of Uw may require them to state a 

 one of the three superior court* of common 

 ; and this power ia very extensively acted 



relaliag to UM revenue, or to UM poor, and to certain' 

 of the statutes on thue* subject* 



a>w ttOft SI Viet. c. 43 



: - . 



' 



to jueticee to direct the pmercutinn 

 wn. (14 * 16 Viet. c. 100, a. 19.) 



ate of - fro* pursuit," at aay pUce within seven mile* o! 

 Bat wh UM oenaa U not found, or ha* escaped, any jt 

 Maty where he if nippoeNl to be, may give eflect to 



peace hare in general no authority over matter* 

 [ oat of the county or place for which they are appointed, and 

 their warrant* can in general only be executed by appre- 

 thin the jurisdiction of the juetioe, except in 

 i mile* of the border. 

 juitice of the 

 the original 



by an iadonement authorising ihfexecution within hi* own 

 don. Thie, which ia termed " backing the warrant," i* done 

 pa proof of the handwriting of the jtutice who issued it ; and the 

 iprebended, i then taken before the juitice who iaiued 

 lee* the prosecutor or any of the witnesses may be in 

 re the apprehension takca place, in which case the 

 y proeaed there. This power to back warrant* U not 

 eoaBned to the owe of counties, but Kngliah warrant, may be backed 

 Ireland, Scotland, or the Ule of Man and Channel bland* (aee 14 ft 

 li Viet. o. 65, a. 18), and net wrs*. 



la the oue of indictable oflenoM committed on the Ugh MM or 

 abroad, warranta may be issned by justice* of the county or place 

 heri the oaeader may be. 

 80, although jueticee of the peace when they are out of the county, 



*e. for which they are appointed hare in general no coercive power, 

 jet where a Jostie* U aleo a juetioe fur an adjoining county he may act 

 lor and deal with owenden ia on* county while in the other. Bo, aleo, 

 a jostle* for a conaty may act in any city, town, or precinct within 

 or l raining to it ; and there are imiUr provisions with reipect to 

 detached parte of counties. The power* of metropolitan police msgis- 

 tralee and of etipeodiary magutrate* are regulated by special itatute* 



jajrhdfcallijsj, or to perform aay other duty < 

 theai. the party aggrieved by such rrf iual : 

 Qveea's Bench for a rale (founded upon 

 etlUag upon the jostiee and the partie* inte 



Justices ought not to exercU* their functions in case* In which they 

 are th*m>ve the person* injured. They should cause the offenders 

 to be taken before other justice*, or, if prewnt, should desire their aid. 

 Whesj Justin* refue* to hear a complaint over which they have 



which the Uw imposes on 

 may apply to the court of 

 an affidavit of the facto) 



aUhsf opna the jastiee and the partie* interested to show cause why 

 the sot required (1 1 * II Viet e. 44, s. 6) should not be done. This 

 is a more expeittioa* sad cheaper mode of proceeding than the former 

 ode by mandamus ; aad, moreover, the order of the <-ourt to do any 

 act. protest* the justice, which a mandamus did not [MAM-AMI-*.] 



Justice* of the peace are strongly protected by the Uw in the execu- 

 tioa of their ofao*. Opprobrious word* which would not lubject the 

 *p*at*r to any pruneollng, civil or criminal, if uttered under other 

 sjrasjsjsteaca*, y*t if spoken of a justice whiUt actually engaged in hi* 

 OsMal dutie* may b* made the subject of an action or of an indii -t- 

 meat, or if *pukn In the prewnce of the justice may b* punished by 

 eommitaMt to prisca a* for a contempt of oourt 



i of the peace acting in or out of sessions acts judl- 

 over which be ha* jurisdiction, and doe* not exceed 

 B, he is not liable to aa action however erroneous hi* 

 ' (Tea express malice or corruption entitle a 

 to aay remedy by action : the delin- 

 only to the crown as for so offence 







hi. jurisdiction, or having jurisdiction deviate* from the 

 - 





r* the proceeding* Told, 

 or where a conviction uader which the joetiee ha* mntod a warrant 

 aiaetariaebyaMi.erioreourt.aaaotionwiUtUagaWtbeja.Uceto 



recover damage* in reepaot of any dUtre**, impruKinment, or other 

 injury which may have remitted from hi* act*, though dona without 

 malto* or other improper motive. But even in theee cases, if the 

 ju*tio ha* acted band JUt in hi* magwtorial capacity, if he ha* in- 

 tended to act within hi* jurisdiction, though by inUtoke he may have 

 ' ' it and nt acted within the strict line of hi* duty, and alao 



In oaae* where a jiutice ha* acted or intended to act in the execution 

 if hi* ministerial dutie*, he i* entitled to the protection of aeTeral 

 important itatutory regulation*, though where there i* no colour what- 

 ever for a belief or nippoeition on the part of the justice that he is 

 acting within hi* jurudirtiou, where the act i* wholly alien to the 



ignterial function* and duue Jiurm iiituilu, then regulations do not 



ply. 



By the 11 * 12 Viet o. 44 (another of ' JervU'* Acts'), reciting that it 

 is expedient to protect justice* of the peace in the execution of their 

 duty, and repealing various previous provisions from the reign of 

 Jjiine* 1., having the came object, no action brought against a justice 

 of the peace for any act done by him in the execution of hi* duty with 

 respect to any matter within hi* jurudiction, can be maintained unless 

 it be proved that the act was done maliciously, and without reasonable 

 and probable cause : and with respect to act* done by a justice in a 

 matter of which by Uw he has not jurisdiction, or in which he Ha* 

 exceeded his jurisdiction, if done under a warrant or colour, no action 

 can be maintained until the conviction or order hu been quashed ; 

 and no action can be brought after a conviction or order confirmed on 

 appeal. If it be proved that the plaintiff was actually guilty of the 

 offence, he cannot recover more than twopence damages without costs. 

 Every action against a justice mu*t be commenced within six months, 

 and one month's notice of action must be given. Wherever a dis- 

 cretionary power is given to a justice, no action U maintainable by 

 reason of the manner in which that discretion has been exercised. 



When a justice acts with partial, corrupt, or malicious motives he U 

 guilty of a misdemeanor, for which he may be indicted, and in a clear 

 case of misconduct the Court of Queen's Bench, which exercises a 

 general superintendence over the conduct of those to whom the admi- 

 nistration of the criminal law of the country i* entrusted, will, if the 

 application be made without delay, give leave to file a criminal informa- 

 tion. But the court will consider, uot whether the act complained of 

 be strictly right or not, but whether it proceeded from unjust, oppres- 

 sive, or corrupt motives, among which motives fear and favour are 

 both included. If the affidavits filed in support of the application 

 disclose nothing which may not be attributable to mere error or mis- 

 take, the court will not even call upon the justice to show cause why 

 a criminal information should not be filed. The court will not enter- 

 tain a motion for a criminal information against a justice of the peace, 

 unless notice of the intended application have been given in suflicieut 

 time to enable him, if he thinks proper, to meet the charge in the first 

 instance by opposing the granting of the rule to show cause. 



The proceedings after an information has been filed or an indictment 

 found against justices of the peace for criminal misconduct are the 

 some as in other cases of misdemeanor. If the defendant suffer judg- 

 ment by default, or is found guilty by the verdict of a jury, the 

 punishment U by fine or imprisonment or both ; after which an appli- 

 cation may be made to the lord chancellor to exclude him from the 

 commission; and when affidavits are filed in the Queun's Hwh im- 

 peaching the conduct of justices of the peace,- such affidavit* are 

 sometimes directed by the court to be Inid before the chancellor, to 

 enable him to judge whether such persons ought to remain in the 







The institution of justice* of the peace has been adopted in most of 

 the British colonies, and has with some modifications been retained in 

 the United States of America. 



JUSTICIAR OF SCOTLAND. The earliest individual in this 

 high office which extant records name seems to be Geoffrey de Male- 

 ville, of Malfvillv, in the county of Edinburgh, ttmp. Malcolm IV. 



The term " Scotland " was then less extensive in it* application than 

 at present ; it designated, properly speaking, not the whole ten-it 

 the realm, but that part only hi. h lay north of tln< Forth, or .Vr tea, 

 as it wo* called ; and accordingly, contemporary with Malcville there 

 wo* another justiciar, David Ulifard, justiciar of Lothian, that is to 

 say, the territory south of the Forth, excepting the district of Galloway, 

 which had long ite own peculiar Uws and customs. About Hi.- ml ].:'!, 

 of tin- 13th century, however, Galloway too had its justiciar, so 

 time there were lime justiciary in the realm of Scotland a justiciar of 

 Galloway, * justiciar of Lothian, and a justiciar of Scotland strictly so 

 called. They were all probably of co-ordinate authority : each, next to 

 the sovereign, supreme in hi* ditrirt ; l>nt Hi. d -tm-t of the last was 

 the most extensive, and, containing within it the mctro]>olip 

 kingdom, it w.w alwuio doubt the most important and the most coveted. 

 Mmm of -Scotland were accordingly the moet conspicuous men 

 of the time : the Comyns, earis of Buchan ; the Macl luffs, earls of 

 Fife ; Melville ; and Sir AUn Durward. This last had an eye to the 

 crown it.-.-lf. for having married the illegitimate daughter of King 

 Alexander II., he gained over the chancellor to move in council her 

 legitimation, and that, on failure of issue of the king's body, she and 

 her heirs might inherit her father's throne. But the king conceived so 

 great a displeasure at this, that be immediately turned the chancellor 

 out of office, and soon afterward* the justiciar also. The proud 



