Texas People's Court : The Fascinating World of the Justice of the Peace / Mark Dunn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dunn, Mark, 1956- author.

Series:

The Texas Experience, Books made possible by Sarah '84 and Mark '77 Philpy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Justices of the peace--Texas.

Justices of the peace.

Small claims courts--Texas.

Small claims courts.

Judicial process--Texas--Cases.

Judicial process.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (311 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

College Station, Texas : Texas A&M University Press, [2022]

Summary:

"From 1983 to 1987, author Mark Dunn worked as a court clerk for a justice of the peace in Travis County, Texas, where, he says, "I learned more about human nature . . . than I could have learned in any other job I might have taken up as a bushy-tailed kid from Tennessee." Based on interviews with 200 justices of the peace from all parts of Texas, Texas People's Court promises to take readers on a tour of what it means to be a Texas justice of the peace: an experience that is by turns hilarious, sobering, heart-wrenching, and, from one end to the other, fascinating. Here in the Texas justice court, wrongs can be righted and lives changed in profound ways. A priceless family necklace might finally be restored to the rightful owner; an occupational driver's license fortuitously granted. A death inquest may become an opportunity for family reflection and valediction, with the attending judge as sympathetic witness. In each of its chapters, Texas People's Court takes up a different aspect, duty, or area of thought related to the profession of justice of the peace taken from conversations with JPs throughout the state of Texas-from those who serve in its most populous municipalities to rural county JPs-putting a human face on the responsibilities, attitudes, and perspectives that motivate their judgments. The result is a thoroughly entertaining, sympathetic view of what Dunn calls "the day-to-day observation of human conflict in microcosm.""-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Human drama, Texas-style

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker, uber driver

Sue me, sue me, what can you do me?

Bag and baggage

A jury of their peers

Dead reckoning

I'm blessed that i don't dream about them

What's happening in JP court is downright criminal

Juvenile justice

Gettin' hitched

To hitch or not to hitch

Four-footed constituents

Forward and in sensible shoes (sometimes boots). With spangles

In God some of us trust

Brain, heart, and nerve

In the opinion of the court

Disrespecting the robe

Goin' rogue

Just a member of the community

And in conclusion, your honor. Let's wrap this up.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

Other Format:

Print version: Dunn, Mark Texas People's Court

ISBN:

9781623499792

OCLC:

1303666010