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It is natural for people to argue every so often. To resolve arguments justly, every city has a mitzva to appoint judges. Their job is to adjudicate and to punish those who harm others. There is also a mitzva to appoint police officers. Their job is to enforce the judges’ rulings. As it says, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God is giving you according to your tribes, and they shall govern the people with due justice” (Deuteronomy 16:18).
It is a mitzva to streamline the judicial process and to resolve disputes as quickly as possible, because the longer a dispute lasts, the stronger the mutual hatred becomes. The Torah specifies having judges at the gates of every city, so disputes can be ended within hours, or at most a day. If one side needs time to gather evidence or locate witnesses, a reasonable amount of time may be allotted for this.
