Why are certain judges called justices (e.g. Supreme Court, justice of the peace)?
It’s mostly custom (and in some cases because that is what their official title is).
In the federal court system, only the Justices of the United States Supreme Court have the title Justice (and are called Justice). All other federal judicial officers (Circuit Judges, District Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Bankruptcy Judges) are referred to as Judge.
Most other states follow a similar system, in which the state supreme court judges are titled Justice, and the judges of lower courts are titled Judge. One anomaly, which you noted, is that the low-ranking official Justice of the Peace is known as Justice as well (and note that in some states this is a judicial function and in others it just means you can marry people).
In New York we have a strange system. Our highest court is the New York Court of Appeals. Our general trial level court is the New York Supreme Court, and our intermediate appellate court is the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Judges on the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division are called Justice, while judges on the Court of Appeals are called Judge (and our highest judicial officer is our Chief Judge). Lower court judges (County Court, etc.) are called Judge, except for judges of the Surrogate’s Court (which handles wills and probate matters), who are known as Surrogate.
Most of the time, in speaking to a judge (of any type), when it is not appropriated to say “Your Honor” (i.e. in court), you can call him or her “Judge.”
Many thanks for the judicial lesson, Billdo. More than I had hoped for. I didn’t know that in NY the supreme judicial body was…the Court of Appeals. Always thought it was the Supreme Court. Judging from your description, I’d say you’re right: it is strange. Do you know if this is specific to NY or if there are other states patterned on the same model. (Don’t do any special research to answer this if you don’t know – just curious).
Again, thanks.
We discussed the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of New York in this thread: A couple of legal questions
In Canada and England, the term “justice” is used for superior court judges, while “judge” is used for inferior courts. “Justice of the Peace” is a historical anomaly - the title dates back centuries, and pre-date the customary use of “justice” for superior court judges.
So in Ontario, for example, judges of the Ontario Court of Justice (formerly the Provincial Court) are “judges,” as that is an inferior court. Judges of the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal are “justices,” as are judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Last time I heard, you addressed Court of Justice and Superior Court judges as “Your Honour,” and Court of Appeal judges as “Your Lordship/Your Ladyship.” SCC judges recently went from being addressed as “Your Lordship/Ladyship” in oral argument to just “Justice.”
Terms of address may vary somewhat from province to province.
Additional thanks to bibliophage and jti.