They have backgrounds in school administration, social work, and translation — and they have the power to send you to jail.

Of the 14 justices of the peace recently appointed by the provincial government, only five have law degrees.

With so few lawyers serving in the position, the JP system in Ontario is still considered a “lay bench,” yet the justices are able to deny bail and detain individuals pending trial as well as to incarcerate them for certain offences.

Ontario, unlike some provinces, does not require JPs to have a formal legal education or experience. They simply need a university or college degree and 10 years of full-time work or volunteer experience.

That’s something a growing number of criminal defence lawyers say needs to change. Even as the role of justice of the peace has evolved to become more powerful and complex, they point out, the job requirements have remained the same.

Lorenzo Berardinetti, parliamentary assistant to Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur, is reviewing the current roles and responsibilities of JPs as well as the qualifications for the job, at Meilleur’s request. A spokeswoman for Meilleur said the review continues.

“They’re dealing with complicated legal issues and they’re dealing with human liberty, and the law is changing and complicated,” said Criminal Lawyers’ Association president Anthony Moustacalis.

“And so to ensure fairness you need to know the ground rules, which are constantly changing, and lawyers are in the best position to know what the ground rules are and to stay up-to-date with them.”

JPs, who wear black robes and green sashes and earn $127,000 a year, are often the first point of contact for individuals entering the criminal justice system.

“There are high standards for Ontario’s justices of the peace. The ministry has full confidence in the ability of justices of the peace to carry out their responsibilities,” said attorney general spokeswoman Christine Burke.

They receive training and mentoring before assuming their duties, which includes presiding over the vast majority of bail hearings and provincial offences matters (such as traffic violations) and authorizing search warrants.

“To make assumptions that these things can be quickly learned through courses is dangerous,” said lawyer Sean Robichaud.

For example, he highlighted that a lawyer would be better equipped to understand the impact a jail sentence can have on a person when weighing that option against others as a justice of the peace, versus someone with no legal training.

“Quite recently there’s been a lot of comment about the level of pre-trial detention in Ontario and, in my view, much of that is from JPs with no or little prior knowledge of the judicial system,” said lawyer Peter Zaduk.

“It seems their default position is to do whatever the Crown suggests, which is detention or sort of this mindless imposition of unduly restrictive and unjustified bail conditions.”

Justices of the peace also have the power to impose discretionary publication bans on certain information, such as on the identity of murder or attempted-murder victims. (JPs also order publication bans on evidence given during bail hearings, but those are mandatory under the law if requested.)

In two recent high-profile stabbings in Toronto, the same justice of the peace immediately imposed discretionary publication bans on the identities of the victims at the request of the Crown, without hearing evidence on why the bans were necessary, as is required in rules set out by the Supreme Court of Canada.

As a result, media had to challenge the bans after the fact. Both bans were eventually lifted.

“Publication bans that are discretionary should never be rubber stamped,” said lawyer Iris Fischer, who has represented the Star.

“We have the Supreme Court test for when publication bans can be ordered, and it’s a very high threshold … Justices of the peace are often dealing with these matters in bail court and other high-volume courts, which is very busy, but the same test still needs to be applied.”

Some provinces, including Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia, have a two-tiered JP system, entrusting only lawyers with legal experience to preside over trials. The other class of JPs, which does not require legal training, deals with more administrative matters such as performing marriages and administering oaths.

There has been some minor legislative push in the past to modify Ontario’s JP system. Liberal MPP David Orazietti, then a backbencher and now minister of Government and Consumer Services, tabled a private member’s bill in 2012 that would have created two classes of JPs similar to other provinces.

The class that could preside over bail hearings would be known as “presiding justices of the peace” and would require five years’ experience as a lawyer before appointment, compared with the minimum 10 years of experience needed to become a judge.

The bill did not go beyond first reading in the legislature. Orazietti’s office did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Having a predominantly non-lawyer bench of justices of the peace can be beneficial, as they bring a commonsense, practical approach to cases, said lawyer James Morton, who previously served as counsel to the Association of Justices of the Peace of Ontario.

“I’m actually very comfortable with a non-lawyer looking at someone in a bail hearing, providing they’re trained, and saying: ‘Do I think this person poses a risk? Should they be on release?’” he said.

While agreeing there is a need for bail reform and to deal with over incarceration, Morton said the problem isn’t so much the justices of the peace but the law itself.

“I don’t see it as justices of the peace over-incarcerating. I think the whole system is set up in such a way that if you had a bench of 300 lawyers, all of whom were fully up to speed on the law, they would be doing roughly the same thing,” he said.

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MEMORABLE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE

There have been several memorable cases of justices of the peace coming under fire for their conduct, both in and out of the courtroom.

Looking goooood: Errol Massiah

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Massiah was fired last year after a discipline panel found he had sexually harassed a number of women at the Whitby courthouse, including telling a female prosecutor she was “looking goooood.” Appointed in 2007, he had previously been reprimanded for making similar remarks to women at the Oshawa courthouse. He is currently challenging in Divisional Court his termination and the decision not to pay his $616,000 legal bill for the discipline hearing.

Questionable remarks: Robert Whittaker

The Toronto JP retired last year before a discipline hearing could hear allegations that he had made insensitive remarks to defendants. According to transcripts, he told a Somali man that he did not appear to be “integrating … into the Canadian lifestyle,” questioned whether a woman with colitis should be allowed to drive a car and made comments about mental illness that one lawyer in the courtroom said were “profoundly” disrespectful.

Sleeping on the job: Solange Guberman

The Ottawa JP resigned before a discipline panel could rule on the allegations against her, including her “pervasive” lack of understanding of basic law, falling asleep in court, screaming at staff and relying on police officers and prosecutors for advice. She also allegedly spoke French when she was aware not all parties could understand.

Justice delayed: Adele Romagnoli

The Newmarket JP was upbraided earlier this year by Superior Court Justice Mark Edwards for wanting to take nearly 11 months to decide whether to accept guilty pleas and impose fines on several speeding offences. Edwards also noted that rulings by Romagnoli have been overturned in at least three other cases where she did not follow joint submissions on sentencing.

Punctuality is everything: Alfred “Budd” Johnston

In a memorable decision, Johnston threw out more than 60 cases — many of them traffic offences — in 2012 because the prosecutor was 71 seconds late. The move was described as “draconian” and “intemperate” by Ontario Court Justice Ramez Khawly, who accepted the City of Toronto’s appeal of the mass dismissal.

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SO YOU WANT TO BE A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE?

Here are some of the requirements to become a JP:

Qualifications:

At least 10 years of full-time work experience, paid or volunteer

University degree or college equivalent in any field

How to apply:

An individual can submit an application form to the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee only when a JP vacancy is advertised.

The process:

The committee is made up of a judge, a justice of the peace, a justice of the peace familiar with aboriginal issues and four other members appointed by the Attorney General.

Aside from the necessary qualifications, the committee also looks for diversity among applicants, and to see if they possess skills and abilities including “a high level of achievement” in employment and/or community service and “demonstrated good judgment in the face of real or perceived conflict of interest.”

The committee then classifies candidates as “Not Qualified,” “Qualified” or “Highly Qualified.” They may or may not interview an individual before assigning a classification.

The classifications are then passed on to the Attorney General, who recommends candidates to cabinet for appointment.