High School Magistrates

Over at TalkLeft, TChris discusses the state of small-time justice in Mississippi. There, as in West Virginia, judges at the lowest level of the justice system - they call them justice courts, we call them magistrate courts - are required to only have a high school education. No higher education and no prior legal training or experience. Is that really a good idea? I agree with TChris that it's not and it's time for Mississippi and West Virginia to reform their systems.