In this field, wigging out takes on a whole new meaning. (Source)

All those episodes of Judge Judy have finally made you snap and now you're all, "Oh, yeah. I can totally do that," in between bites of your microwaved burrito. Convinced you should be the one holding the gavel? Before you start measuring yourself for a custom tailored robe (and one of those snazzy white wigs, because you're all about keeping it old school), let's talk logistics.

First of all, just to be clear, you won't land a spot on daytime television by becoming a justice of the peace. Okay? Good. You will, however, probably be paid around $97,000. So that's nice (source).

What does a Justice of the Peace do?

If you're in this for fun weekend trips to Vegas where you'll use your power to make young love legally binding...then you might want to reconsider your plan. While justices of the peace do perform weddings, it's only a small aspect of their daily duties. As members of the lowest state courts, they are in charge of deciding legal matters for minor criminal offenses. 

This includes such tasks as imposing fines, rendering verdicts on traffic violations, issuing warrants, and determining probable cause. They are also considered conservators of the peace and are, therefore, allowed to make arrests if they determine someone to be disturbing the peace (source).

You need to love balancing scales. (Source)

If you're still starry-eyed and salivating at the idea of this gig, then you might just have the right personality for the road ahead. It takes a special kind of person to hold this position. You need to love upholding laws...even the little ones like proper parking and maintaining orderly conduct.

Maybe you used to be a hall monitor (it's okay, we get it) or always insisted on being the authority when you played cops and robbers. Maybe you even toyed with the idea of becoming a police officer, but aren't fond of unpredictable circumstances and donuts. If so, you're uniquely suited for this role.

How do you land the gig?

If you thought interviewing was hard, you might want to sit down for this part. Justices of the peace must be elected or appointed by their state in order to serve. This means that you not only have to love the law to get into this career, but you also better be down with politics. Kissing babies, shaking hands...you know the drill.

You'll also need to have a background that reflects these interests. While some justices have been elected to serve without having much legal experience, this is becoming less and less common. Some states, such as California, have made it a requirement that all judges must also be licensed attorneys (source). 

This means the chances of you going from graduation robe to courtroom robe are pretty slim. Go out and get some relevant education and experience, make yourself a recognized professional in your community, and then you might have a chance of slipping into that coveted layer of black fabric.

Oh, one more thing: Where you live matters. Just in case this didn't sound like a hard enough process, you should also note that there are only a handful of states that actually still have this position. Most have absorbed its functions into other judicial positions. So, if you're sure this is your dream job, you'll want to make sure you're residing in a state where that dream can still become a reality.

Who doesn't love a challenge, right?

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