Sec. 51-95. Qualification and certification of nominated justices of the peace. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 51-95. Qualification and certification of nominated justices of the peace. (a) Each person nominated to be a justice of the peace shall take the official oath on or before the first Monday of January following his nomination or, if nominated to fill a vacancy, within ten days thereafter. If the first Monday of January falls on a legal holiday, the oath shall be taken on or before the first Tuesday of January. Unless the official oath is administered by the town clerk, the officer who administers it shall transmit a certificate of the taking of the oath to the clerk of the town in which the justice of the peace was nominated.

      (b) Each such justice of the peace, after taking the official oath, shall furnish his signature to such town clerk upon a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of the State. The form shall be delivered or sent by the clerk to each nominated justice of the peace within the town.

      (c) If a person nominated to be a justice of the peace fails to take the oath or to furnish his signature to the town clerk on or before the first Monday in January following his nomination, or the first Tuesday in January if the first Monday in January following the nomination is a legal holiday, the office to which he was nominated shall be deemed vacant.

      (d) The town clerk of each town shall keep a record of the names of such qualified justices of the peace.

      (e) On or before the fifteenth day of January following the nomination of justices of the peace or, if nominated to fill a vacancy, within ten days after the nomination, the town clerk shall make a certificate upon a form to be prescribed and furnished by the Secretary of the State, stating the names of such qualified justices of the peace in the town, which names shall be set forth as on the registry list of electors in the town. The town clerk shall transmit the certificate to the Secretary of the State.

      (f) The certificate shall be sufficient authority upon receipt for the Secretary of the State to certify that the justices of the peace were duly nominated and qualified. Town clerks may also certify to the nomination and qualification of justices of the peace in their respective towns.

      (g) Within thirty days after the fifteenth day of January following the nomination of any justice of the peace, and provided the signature form has been received by the town clerk, the town clerk shall issue to each such qualified justice of the peace a certificate of qualification setting forth his name, address, term of office and a statement that he is qualified to act as a justice of the peace.

      (h) Each such justice of the peace shall cause the certificate of qualification to be displayed to any person who seeks his service as a justice of the peace.

      (1949 Rev., S. 7548; 1953, S. 3093d; 1957, P.A. 224; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 97; 1963, P.A. 532; February, 1965, P.A. 75; 1971, P.A. 443; 1972, P.A. 165, S. 13; June, 1972, P.A. 1, S. 20; P.A. 74-109, S. 9, 11; P.A. 76-71, S. 2, 3; P.A. 78-153, S. 3, 32; P.A. 82-248, S. 79; P.A. 91-24, S. 5, 8; P.A. 94-230, S. 4, 10.)

      History: 1959 act deleted references to trial justices, municipal courts and prosecuting grand jurors; 1963 act added provisions re issuance of certificate of qualification by secretary of the state and re justice's duty to display certificate to persons seeking his services; 1965 act substituted first Monday in January for tenth day of January as time for taking oath, required justice to furnish birth date to secretary and clerks and extended time for secretary to furnish certificate of qualification from 10 to 30 days after receipt of certificate from town clerk; 1971 act clarified provisions re requirement that justice furnish secretary of the state, superior court clerk and town clerk with signature and date of birth, changing deadline from one week after taking oath to January 15th succeeding election and making issuance of town clerk's and secretary of the state's certificates conditional upon receipt of signature and birth date, and specified that certificate issued by secretary of the state must include the date justice's term expires in cases where he will reach the age of 70 during the term; 1972 acts specified that justices residing in New Haven county shall send form to superior court clerk at New Haven or Waterbury and justices residing in Litchfield county shall send form to court clerk at Litchfield or Waterbury, effective September 5, 1972; P.A. 74-109 referred to nomination of justices rather than to their election at a state election and transferred power to issue certificate of qualification from secretary of the state to town clerk; P.A. 76-71 deleted requirement that justice furnish his date of birth and requirement that certificate of qualification include birth date and date term expires by reason of justice's reaching the age of 70, effectively removing age limitations; P.A. 78-153 changed time for taking oath and furnishing signature from January fifteenth after nomination to first Monday in January or first Tuesday if the Monday is a legal holiday in provision whereby failure to meet deadline is deemed to render the office vacant for consistency; P.A. 82-248 made technical revision, rewording some provisions and dividing section into Subsecs. but made no substantive change; P.A. 91-24 required each justice of the peace to furnish his signature to the town clerk for the town in which he was nominated in duplicate rather than in triplicate and deleted the requirement that the town clerk transmit one of such completed signature forms to the clerk of the superior court for the county, required each town clerk to make a single certificate of the names of qualified justices of the peace in the town rather than duplicate certificates and deleted the requirement that the town clerk transmit one certificate to the clerk of the superior court for the county in which the justice of the peace was nominated, and deleted provisions re the transmittal of signature forms and certificates of qualified justices of the peace for justices nominated in the judicial district of Waterbury; P.A. 94-230 repealed requirements of duplicate forms and submission of one completed form to secretary of the state and made technical changes, effective June 11, 1994.