Where a justice of the peace acting in or out of session. acts judi cially in a matter over which he has jurisdiction, and does not exceed his jurisdiction, he is not liable to an action however erroneous his daemon may be; nor will even express malice or corruption entitle a party aggrieved such decision to any remedy by action : the Jelin.
quint le answerable only to the crown as for an offence enrnsaItt!.1 against the pubic. Whore the justice has no jurisdiction or weenie his junelictim, or having jurisdiction deviates from the prewribed Egad forum to an extent which renders the proceedings void, or who a conviction under which the jtetice has gninted a warrant is tat wide by a euparior court, an action will Ile against the justice to recover damages in respect of any distress, imprisonment, or other injury which may have resulted from his acts, though done without malice or other improper motive. But even In these cases, if the justice has acted bond fide in his magisterial capacity, if he has in tended to act within his jurisdiction, though by ulistake he may have exceeded it and not acted within the strict line of his duty, and also in cases where a justice has acted or intended to act in the execution of his ministerial duties, he is entitled to the protection of several important statutory regulations, though where there Is no colour what ever for a belief or supposition on the part of the justice that he is acting within his jurisdiction, where the act is wholly alien to the magisterial functions and done direrse intuits, these regulations do not By the II & 12,Vict. o. 44 (another of 'Jervis'. Acts'), reciting that it is expedient to protect justices of the peace in the execution of their duty, and repealing various previous provisions from the reign of James I., having the same object, no action brought against a justice of the peace for any net done by him in the execution of his duty with respect to any matter within his jurisdiction, can be maintained unless it be proved that the act was done maliciously, and without reasonable and probable cause : and with respect to acts done by a justice in it matter of which by law be has not jurisdiction, or in which he Ifita exceeded his jurisdiction, if done under a warrant or colour, no action can be maintained until the conviction or order has 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
onence, he cannot recover more than twopence damages without costs. Every action against a justice must be commenced within six months, and one month's notice of action moult be given. Wherever It dis cretionary power is given to a justice, no action is maintainable by reason of the manner in which that discretion has been exercised.
When a justice acts with partial, corrupt, or malicious motives he is 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 is entrusted, will, if the application be made without delay, give leave to file a criminal informa. tion. But the court will consider, not 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 noticing 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 sufficient 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 same as in other casesof misdemeanor. If the defendant euffer judg ment by default, or is found guilty by the verdict of a jury, the punishment is by fine or imprisonment or both ; after which an appli cation may bo made to the lord chancellor to exclude him from the commission; and when affidavits are filed in the Queen's Bench im peaching the conduct of justices of the peace,. such affidavits are sometimes directed by the court to be laid before the chancellor, to enable hint to judge whether such persona ought to remain in the commission.
The institution of justices 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.