Joseph Mayo was a counsellor at law and public prosecutor in the Hustings Court in Richmond. This work "professes to aid the Justices of the Peace in Virginia in the discharge of the various and complicated duties connected with their office, which devolve on them out of Court; where, unaided by legal advice, they are frequently called to act under circumstances involving the highest degree of responsibility and difficulty." Templates of necessary forms accompany detailed explanations of legal offenses. An index to subjects augments the text.