Justice of the Peace Magazine

The Justice of the Peace (JP) now known as Criminal Law & Justice Weekly (CL&J)^[1] has continuously reported for 173 years all aspects of the law for the magisterial and criminal courts, since first published in 1837. It is the oldest legal weekly magazine in England and Wales.

First published by Shaw and Co, with the aim of providing the legal community with a "universal medium of communication" the magazine set out to provide certainty of the speediest information upon all subjects falling under the respective cognizance of its readership.^[2] The magazine moved to Butterworths in the early 20th century and during the Second World War, it was produced at West Dean House (Butterworths & Co were evacuated to West Sussex during the war). In 1972, the JP was sold to Barry Rose, who also edited the magazine until he sold the JP back to Butterworths in 1997. The back volumes of the JP contain a history of the life and times of England and Wales. It is now owned by LexisNexis which is part of Reed Elsevier.

Today, CL&J still reports on all matters concerning the criminal courts and the latest news for its readers. It is used by legal practitioners: judges, justice’s clerks and executives, barristers, solicitors, police, probation, local authorities and all that work within the magistrate’s and criminal court systems. It also includes cases from Justice of the Peace Reports.

Features and contents

• Independent comment on important decisions made by the courts or government.
• Notes of the Week – reporting important and relevant cases of interest.
• Features, articles and interviews.
• Current news and projects being used within the criminal justice system, covering family law, coroners, trading standards, local authority, probation, prison and police areas, road traffic and custom and excise, IT developments and relevant cases.
• Notes of Cases – taken from Justice of the Peace Reports.
• Reports on sentencing and current practise.
• Weekly Law Digest – round up of the new Acts, statutory instruments and parliamentary publications.

History

The Justice of the Peace (JP) magazine has continuously reported for 172 years all aspects of the law for the magisterial and criminal courts, since first published in 1837. It is the oldest legal weekly journal in England and Wales, and read by those making decisions in their specialist areas within the Criminal Justice System.

First published by Shaw and Co, with the aim of providing the legal community with a "universal medium of communication" the magazine set out to provide certainty of the speediest information upon all subjects falling under the respective cognizance of its readership ((1837) 1 JPN 1).The magazine moved to Butterworths in the early 20th century and during the Second World War, it was produced at West Dean House (Butterworths & Co were evacuated to West Sussex during the war). In 1972, the JP was sold to Barry Rose, who also edited the magazine until he sold the JP back to Butterworths in 1997. The back volumes of the JP contain a history of the life and times of England and Wales.

Editor

Current Consultant Editor: Adrian Turner, Barrister, also co-editor of Stone's Justices' Manual

References