text: what does justice of the peace role,their respsonbility, qualifications and conditions within the legal field?   in times past, they were a kind of police magistrate, presiding over minor things (not jury trials). they were never really judges in the strict sense, though many people regarded them as such. some states have abolished the position.   jps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/justice_of_the_peace magistrates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magistrate