You recognize the man standing before you in court. He is thin and his
tangled hair hangs in his eyes. His clothes are dirty and worn, and his shoes
have holes in them.
As a justice of the peace, you're reading this man his rights because he
has been charged with breaking and entering in a local corner store. It certainly
isn't the first time you've seen him standing before you in the courtroom.
"It can be frustrating when you see the same people again and again," says
Larry Cole, a justice of the peace in Oregon. "It seems like a revolving door
or a recycling bin."
This repeat offender is an alcoholic and commits crimes to feed his habit.
"People like this go through the process, go in a program and in six months
they are back," says Cole. "It's a sad thing."
It is stories like this man's that can make a justice of the peace's job
difficult to bear. It isn't easy to see people in what is probably the worst
time of their lives.
"But it's all worthwhile when you wind up with a real success story," says
Cole. He remembers one alcoholic who kept appearing before him on different
charges.
"But then he had a total life turnaround," he says. "This gentleman is
now the head of an alcohol and drug program.
"One success story makes a thousand failures worth it."
Some JPs travel to smaller communities to deal with the many people who
stand before them. But these days, technology is eliminating the need for
travel.
"We do what is called tele-bills for places where there isn't court every
day," says Hugh Gaffney, a justice of the peace.
When a person is arrested, they must appear in court to have their charges
read. In rural or remote areas, this can be done by phone.
"An officer faxes the information into us, and then we phone the officer,"
explains Gaffney. "A prisoner can be brought out of the cell and put on a
speakerphone. Their lawyer doesn't even have to be present."
Instead, the justice of the peace can organize a three- or four-way conference
call to include the officer, the prisoner and the lawyer.
Gaffney, of course, doesn't spend all of his time on the phone. He meets
most of the officers and prisoners face to face. "It's a very interesting
profession," he says. "You work with all kinds of people and you never know
what you're going to hear next.
"It could be a common assault, a murder charge or a multimillion-dollar
fraud charge coming over the fax at any given time," he says.
Because of the variety, Gaffney says that justices of the peace have to
work hard to keep up will all the changes in the court system.
Cole agrees. He also notes that a changing and more diverse population
is making his work more difficult. "It's important that people who don't speak
English well have a translator," he says. "They must be able to understand
what charges are being laid against them."
However, a lack of translators creates problems. "It's a more diversified
population and we don't have any resident translators. It can be difficult
and a problem we're running into more often," he says.
Justices of the peace work with all kinds of people. If they're performing
a marriage, then they may be witnessing two people at the happiest moment
in their lives. Or they might be reading charges to a person who will eventually
be sent to prison for life.
Knowing that you're involved in the outcome of people's lives can be difficult.
"You deal with lots of people who are in custody," says Janice McGuckin, a
justice of the peace. "That can be hard."
She says the key to her work is remembering that she's toiling for the
good of that person, and for society. Whatever happens on a day-to-day basis
often has to be left at the office.
"There's not a lot of job satisfaction," she says. "When someone is screaming
at you and they don't want to be there, you can't take it personally. And
you can't take it home with you.
"You have all kinds of people coming before you, and that's actually the
part of this job I enjoy the most," says McGuckin. "I work with many prosecutors
and the police."
But she warns that being a successful JP takes more than simply being a
people person. "You've got to be somebody who can handle pressure, and is
able to not take all of what you see home with you."
As frustrating as it is to see repeat offenders such as the alcoholic before
you in court, and despite how miserable it makes you to see people ruining
their lives, you can't let the work destroy your spirit.
Cole agrees. "It can be a difficult job, but overall, it's a very worthwhile
endeavor."