Magistrates, Police, and People
Subtitle: Everyday Criminal Justice in Quebec and Lower Canada, 1764-1837 (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)
Publisher: University of Toronto Press; University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; Published for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press
Published: December 16, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 464
ISBN-13: 9780802092236
Subjects: American history: c 1500 to c 1800; American history: c 1800 to c 1900; Jurisprudence & General Issues; Legal Reference / Law Profession; Law; Politics / Current Events; Canada; Canada - Pre-Confederation (to 1867); Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism; Law / Legal History; Legal History; 18th century; 19th century; Criminal justice, Administration of; History; Quâebec (Province)
Description: "Based on extensive research in judicial and official sources, Donald Fyson offers the first comprehensive study of the everyday workings of criminal justice in Quebec and Lower Canada. Focusing on the justices of the peace and their police, Fyson examines both the criminal justice system itself, and the system in operation as experienced by those who participated in it. Fyson contends that, although the system was fundamentally biased, its flexibility provided a source of power for ordinary citizens. At the same time, the system offered the colonial state and its elites a powerful, though often faulty, means of imposing their will on Quebec society. This study will challenge many received historical interpretations, providing new insight into criminal justice in early Quebec."--BOOK JACKET.