This term may have a more or less extensive signification according to the use and connection in which it occurs. In its widest sense it includes the whole body of public functionaries, whether thelr offices be legislative, judicial, executive, or admin-istrative. In a more restricted (and more usual) meaning, It denotes the class of offi-Oers who are charged with the application and execution of the laws. In a still more confined use, It deslgnates the body of judi-cial officers of the lowest rank, and more es-pecially those who have Jurisdiction for the trial and punishment of petty misdemeanors or the preliminary steps of a criminal prosecution, such as police judges and justices of the peace. Tlie term also denotes the office of a magistrate
Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
