Sheriff

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For other uses, see Sheriff (disambiguation).

Sheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or U.S. common law, or the person who holds such office. The term "sheriff" originates from the older office position of "shire reeve".

[edit] Modern usage

[edit] Australia

The office of Sheriff was first established in Australia in 1824. This was simultaneous with the appointment of the first Chief Justice of New South Wales. The role of the Sheriff has not been static, nor is it identical in each Australian State. In the past his duties included: executing court judgments, acting as a coroner, the transportation of prisoners, managing the gaols, and carrying out executions (through the employment of an anonymous hangman). Currently, the criminal law of no Australian State provides for capital punishment. A government department (usually called the Department of Corrections or similar) now runs the prison system and the Coroner’s Office handles coronial matters. The Sheriff is now largely responsible for enforcing the civil orders and fines of the court (seizing and selling the property of judgment debtors who do not satisfy the debt), providing court security and running the jury system.

[edit] Canada

Various jurisdictions in Canada on provincial and sub-provincial levels operate sheriff's departments primarily concerned with court bailiff services such as courtroom security, post-arrest prisoner transfer, serving legal processes, and executing civil judgments. Sheriffs are defined under Section 2 of the Criminal Code of Canada as "peace officers" and in many cases have the same authority as a police officer. In other parts of Canada not covered by a sheriff's agency, bailiff functions are handled directly by the local or provincial police or by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as appropriate. In 2006 in Alberta, the sheriff duties were expanded to include highway patrols in the province to free up RCMP officers for other police duties. As of October 2006 there were 40 armed sheriffs patrolling Alberta highways.

[edit] India

See also: Sheriff of Mumbai

Among cities in India, only Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta) have a Sheriff. The Sheriff has an apolitical, non-executive role. Sheriffs preside over various city-related functions and conferences and welcomes foreign guests. The post is second to the mayor in the protocol list.

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] England

Main article: High Sheriff

[edit] City of London

Main article: Sheriff of the City of London

In the City of London, the position of sheriff is one of the officers of the Corporation. Two are elected by the liverymen of the City each year to assist the Lord Mayor, attend the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, and present petitions to Parliament: usually one is an alderman and the other is not. The aldermanic sheriff is then likely to become Lord Mayor in due course.

[edit] Scotland

Main article: Sheriff Court
See also: Scots law

In Scotland, a sheriff is an analogous to a judge and sits in a second-tier court, called the Sheriff Court. The Sheriff is legally qualified, in comparison with a lay Justice of the Peace who preside over the first-tier District Courts in Scotland.

The sheriff court is the court of first instance for both civil and criminal cases. However, the court's powers are limited, so that major crimes such as rape or murder and complex or high-value civil cases are dealt with in the High Court (for criminal matters) or the Court of Session (for civil matters).

There are six Sheriffdoms in Scotland, each with a Sheriff Principal. Within each Sheriffdom there are several Sheriff Courts; each Court has at least one courtroom and at least one Sheriff. A Sheriff may sit at different courts throughout the Sheriffdom.[citation needed]

Sheriffs are usually advocates and, increasingly, solicitors with many years legal experience. Until recently, they were appointed by the Scottish Executive, on the advice of the Lord Advocate. However, the Scotland Act 1998 introduced the European Convention of Human Rights into Scots law. A subsequent legal challenge to the impartiality of the Sheriffs based on the provisions of the Convention led to the setting up of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, which now makes recommendations to the First Minister, who nominates all judicial appointments in Scotland other than in the District Court. Nominations are made to the Prime Minister, who in turn makes the recommendation to the Queen.

[edit] Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland Sheriff is the title given to tax collection agents for the Revenue commissioners. They are charged with recovering unsettled tax debts from late payers or seizing stock and goods in lieu thereof. The Sheriff of Dublin also acts as Returning Officer for all elections in the city.

[edit] United States

Deputy Sheriff in 1940
Deputy Sheriff in 1940

In the United States a sheriff is generally (but not always) the highest, usually elected, law enforcement officer of a county. The political election of a person to serve as a police leader is an almost uniquely American tradition. (The practice has been followed in the British Channel Island of Jersey since at least the 16th Century - see Balleine's History of Jersey). All law enforcement officers working for the agency headed by a sheriff are called sheriff's deputies or deputy sheriffs and are so called because they are deputized by the sheriff to perform the same duties as he. (In some states, however, a Sheriff may not be a sworn officer but merely an elected official in charge of sworn officers.) These officers may be subdivided into general deputies and special deputies. In some places, the sheriff has the responsibility to recover any deceased persons within their county. That is why often the full title is Deputy Sheriff-Coroner, Deputy Sheriff Coroner or Deputy Sheriff/Coroner, and the sheriff's title is Sheriff Coroner or Sheriff/Coroner. The second-in-command of the department is sometimes called an undersheriff or "Chief Deputy". This is akin to the deputy chief of police position of a police department.

In the U.S., the relationship between the sheriff and other police departments varies widely from state to state, and indeed in some states from county to county. In the northeastern U.S., the sheriff's duties have been greatly reduced with the advent of state-level law enforcement agencies, especially the state police and local agencies such as the county police.

Sheriffs generally fall into three broad categories:

  • Restricted service — provide basic services such as keeping the county jail, transporting prisoners, providing courthouse security and other duties with regard to service of process and summonses that are issued by county and state courts. The sheriff also often conducts auction sales of real property in foreclosure in many jurisdictions, and is often also empowered to conduct seizures of chattel property to satisfy a judgment. In other jurisdictions, these civil process duties are performed by other officers, such as a marshal or constable.
  • Limited service — along with the above, perform some type of traditional law-enforcement function such as investigations and patrol. This may be limited to security police duties on county properties (and others by contract) to the performance of these duties in unincorporated areas of the county, and some incorporated areas by contract.
  • Full service — provide all traditional law-enforcement functions, including countywide patrol and investigations irrespective of municipal boundaries.

The federal equivalent to the office of sheriff is the United States Marshals Service, an agency of the Department of Justice: there is one U.S. Marshal for each federal judicial district (94 total); the Marshal and his or her deputies are responsible for the transport of prisoners and security for the United States District Courts, and also issue and enforce certain civil process. There is also a Marshal of the Supreme Court who performs all court related duties.

There are about 3,500 County Sheriff's Offices in the United States ranging from one- or two-member forces to the 11,000-member Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The average Sheriff's Office in the United States employs 24.5 sworn officers. The nation's Sheriffs are represented by the National Sheriffs' Association which was founded in 1940.

In many rural areas of the United States, particularly in the Southern United States, the sheriff has traditionally been viewed as the most influential political office holder instead of those on the county's administrative board.

Compare to the former role of High Sheriff in England and Wales.

[edit] California

In California, the sheriff's department of each county polices those areas of the county that do not lie within the jurisdiction of a police department (e.g., incorporated cities). As such, the sheriff and his or her deputies in rural areas and unincorporated municipalities are equivalent to police officers in the cities. The sheriff's department may also provide policing services to incorporated cities by contract; see contract city.

All peace officers in California are able to enforce their powers anywhere in the state regardless of county or municipal boundaries, thus California sheriffs have full police powers in incorporated and unincorporated municipalities, outside their own county, and state freeways.

Interestingly, because the City and County of San Francisco are coterminous (and are the only city and county in California to be such), the San Francisco County Sheriff historically possessed police authority. However as the San Francisco PD provides general police service for the city, the S.F. Sheriffs Office handles judicial duties, staffs the jail, and provides security for city buildings such as city hall. SF Sheriffs deputies are still sworn peace officers and can provide manpower to back-up SFPD as needed.

Before 2000, there was a constable or marshal in each county who was responsible for providing bailiffs to the courts and for serving criminal and civil process. During a reorganization of the state judicial system in the early 2000s, the roles of marshal and sheriff were merged, so that California sheriffs assumed the duties of most marshals, and the position of constable was eliminated.

California Sheriffs typically receive 100 - 300 calls a day, depending on the county. California has one of the highest crime rates in the United States.

[edit] Connecticut

Connecticut abolished County Sheriffs in 2000 by Public Act 00-01. All civil-process-serving deputies were sworn in as State Marshals and criminal special deputies were sworn in as Judicial Marshals. Constables remain municipal officers governed by their respective town or city.

[edit] Delaware

The first Constitution of Delaware in 1776 made the Constables the conservators of the peace with the State, and the Sheriffs the conservators of the peace within the three counties of the state which are New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. The Sheriffs were chosen by the citizens of each county at the general elections to serve a three year term. The Sheriffs ensured that the peace of the county be kept; arrested all persons committing riot, murder, theft, or breach of the peace and carried them before a Justice of the Peace. Sheriffs would appoint such number of Deputies to assist them in their duties. In 1805 the Sheriffs were required to attend Court when it was in session. In 1873 the Sheriffs became responsible to transport and provide prison camps for convicted criminals. The Sheriffs were emplowered to serve warrants and writs issued by the Courts and serve eviction notices.

With the establishment of the Delaware State Police and the Department of Correction, the Sheriffs holds a position of less importance than in the past. Today's responsibilities includes processing orders of the court, summoning people for hearings, exection sales against property, and violations of civil law.

[edit] Florida

The sheriffs in Florida are full-service county agencies by state law with the exception of Miami-Dade County, which has no sheriff but does have two directors appointed by its county commission. By law, the sheriff, with exception of Miami-Dade County, is the chief law-enforcement officer of the county and is a constitutional officer who is elected. In Miami-Dade County, the duties of the two appointed directors is as follows:

  • One sheriff is simultaneously the Metropolitan Sheriff and the Director of Public Safety. As the Director of Public Safety he serves as the chief of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
  • The other is a sheriff and Director of Corrections and is charged with the care and custody of prisoners.

Since the consolidation of Duval County and City of Jacksonville governments in 1968, the sheriff of Duval County serves as the Jacksonville police chief, the united force usually styled the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO). While the JSO's jurisdiction encompasses all the former unincorporated areas, five incorporated Duval County communities continue to maintain their own police forces.

[edit] Georgia

One of five county officials listed in the state constitution, sheriffs in Georgia are full-service county officers. Article IX, Section I of the constitution specifies that sheriffs "shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective counties for a term of four years and shall have such qualifications, powers and duties as provided by general law."

Most of the qualifications, powers and duties of a sheriff in Georgia are detailed in Title 15, Chapter 16 of state law. Among other things, the law states that "the sheriff is the basic law enforcement officer of the several counties of this state." Section 10 makes it clear that the sheriff has as much authority within municipalities as he does in unincorporated areas of his county, although many sheriffs refrain from performing standard law-enforcement functions within municipalities that have their own police department unless specifically requested to do so, or are required to do so in order to fulfill other provisions in state law.

In addition to law enforcement, sheriffs or their deputies execute and return all processes and orders of the courts; receive, transport, and maintain custody of incarcerated individuals for court; attend the place or places of holding elections; keep all courthouses, jails, public grounds, and other county property; maintain a register of all precious-metal dealers; enforce the collection of taxes that may be due to the state; as well as numerous other duties.

The office of Sheriff in Georgia existed in colonial times, and was included in the first official constitution of Georgia in 1777. There is no limit to how many terms a sheriff may serve. Title 15, Chapter 16, Section 40 of Georgia law specifies that, upon reaching 75 years of age, a sheriff who has held that office for 45 or more years automatically holds the honorary office of sheriff emeritus of the State of Georgia.

[edit] Hawaii

In Hawaii, the Office of Sheriff falls under the Sheriff Division of the State Department of Public Safety [1]. It is the functional equivalent of a state police department and has the distinction of making Hawaii the only U.S. state without an officially named state police department and one of two with a statewide Sheriff's Department (the other being Rhode Island). Although the Sheriff Division's jurisdiction covers the entire state, its primary functions are judicial and executive protection, security at the state capitol, law-enforcement at Hawaii's airports, narcotics enforcement, prisoner transportation, the processing and service of court orders and warrants, and the patrol of certain roads and waterways in conjunction with other state agencies.

[edit] Indiana

In Indiana, county sheriffs are elected to office and limited by the state constitution to serving no more than two four-year terms consecutively. Indiana sheriffs are empowered to make arrests of persons who commit an offense within the sheriff's view, and take them before a court of the county having jurisdiction, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated. They possess a general power to suppress breaches of the peace, calling the power of the county to the sheriff's aid if necessary; pursue and jail felons; serve and execute judicial process; attend and preserve order in all courts of the county; take care of the county jail and the prisoners there; take photographs, fingerprints, and other identification data as the sheriff shall prescribe of persons taken into custody for felonies or misdemeanors. They are required to provide an accounting to the state department of correction concerning the costs of incarcerating prisoners in the county.[1]

Somewhat unusual among the states, Indiana sheriffs are paid a salary out of which they must feed the prisoners in the county jails in their charge. They must account for the money they spend on prisoner's food; many counties' agreement with the sheriff's department allows the elected sheriff to keep the remaining funds allocated.[2] As a result, in many Indiana counties, the position of sheriff is one of the more lucrative of the elected officials, and the elections for sheriff are frequently warmly contested and draw larger numbers of candidates than most other county elective positions.[3]

[edit] Kentucky

Sheriffs in Kentucky are elected for four-year terms and are the chief law-enforcement officers in their respective counties. Sheriff's departments in Kentucky have full police powers in all areas of their particular county, including incorporated cities. In most cases, however, they will patrol in cities only when requested by the mayor and/or the chief of police, or in the case of a major emergency. Deputies will jointly patrol unincorporated areas of their county with the Kentucky State Police, who have full statewide police authority. In addition, sheriffs in Kentucky are responsible for court security, serving court papers and transporting prisoners. They are also responsible for collecting taxes on real estate and tangible property.

One of the main differences between Kentucky sheriffs and sheriffs in other states is that Kentucky sheriffs do not run the county jails. County jails are run by a separate elected officer called a jailer who has the authority to employ deputy jailers. The sheriff's office, however, may be asked by the jailer to assist with jail security in the event of an emergency.

Deputy sheriffs, like municipal police officers, must be trained and certified as peace officers through the Kentucky Department of Justice Law Enforcement Training Center at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, unless they have previously completed another recognized police academy. To maintain certification, all certified peace officers must complete forty hours of in-service training annually.

[edit] Louisiana

The Louisiana constitution establishes the office of sheriff in each parish, except Orleans, who is elected for a term of four years (Const. Art. V, §27). The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the parish and has both criminal and civil jurisdiction. The sheriff is in charge of all criminal investigations and is responsible for executing court orders and process. The sheriff is the collector of ad valorem taxes and other taxes and license fees as provided by law and is the keeper of the public jail in the parish. Article V, Section 32 provides for the offices of civil sheriff and criminal sheriff in Orleans Parish. State & Local Government in Louisiana, Chapter 3 Local Government, Part. II. Constitutional Offices.[2]

Orleans Parish currently has two sheriffs:

  • The Criminal Sheriff, who is the chief law enforcement officer of the parish, additionally operates Orleans Parish Prison; and performs security, serves process, and performs enforcement functions for the Criminal District Court. Deputies are state-commissioned peace officers and are empowered to enforce all the laws of the state and ordinances of the parish. In addition, the Criminal Sheriff operates a Search & Rescue unit for maritime operations, as part of the Special Operations Division.
  • The Civil Sheriff, under Louisiana Revised Statute 13:1311, "...and the constables of the First and Second City Courts of New Orleans and their deputies, are hereby granted the powers of peace officers when carrying out the duties of the court, and are authorized to require incarceration of the subject involved in any of the city, parish or state prisons, precinct stations, or houses of detention in the parish of Orleans. They shall be exempt from liability for their actions in the exercise of this power in the same manner and fashion as liability is excluded generally for peace officers of this state and political subdivisions." [3]

NOTE: Under Louisiana Revised Statute 33:1500, Orleans Parish criminal and civil sheriffs' offices will be merged into one office by 2010 as a result of legislation passed to merge the Criminal and Civil Courts into one consolidated district court, as in all other Louisiana parishes.[4]

[edit] Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, counties that have sheriffs elect them to serve the county's needs in certain limited aspects of law enforcement. Cities and towns with populations greater than 1500 maintain a local police department; State Police provide statewide patrol, backing up local agencies and serving some very small communities exclusively. Sheriffs do not have general police jurisdiction in their counties: permission is needed to patrol a municipality. Some common duties include transporting prisoners, operating county jails, traffic control duty, serving official court orders, and running community service programs. The Essex County Sheriff's Department is located at the county's jail.

[edit] Michigan

In Michigan, sheriffs are constitutionally mandated, elected county officials. All sheriff's offices have general law enforcement powers throughout their entire county, as well as traditional judicial-process, court-protection (bailiff) and jail-operation powers. Sheriff's offices may primarily patrol areas of their county without municipal police services; however, they are free to patrol anywhere in their county, including cities, villages and charter townships that have their own police services. Occasionally, this results in conflict over jurisdiction between municipal police agencies and sheriff's offices.[5]

In some counties (primarily urban counties such as Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw), sheriff's offices provide dedicated police services under contract to some municipalities, in lieu of those municipalities providing their own police services. (Michigan law provides for or requires municipalities, depending upon their structure, to provide dedicated police services.)

The sheriffs of all 83 Michigan counties are members of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association. This professional organization promulgates standardized insignias that are used, to varying degrees, by all Michigan sheriff's offices on their uniforms and vehicles.

Notably, the Michigan State Police have general law-enforcement powers throughout the entire state. Thus, all Michigan residents have at least two levels of general police services (state police and sheriff's offices), while residents of a municipality that has its own police service have a third level of general police service.

[edit] Nebraska

All Nebraska counties have sheriff's departments responsible for general law-enforcement functions in areas other than those covered by local city police departments. In larger cities such as Omaha or Lincoln, sheriff's departments perform mainly judicial duties such as serving warrants and providing courtroom security. Sheriff's deputies in Nebraska are certified by the state law-enforcement commission and have full arrest powers.

Nebraska State Troopers are sworn state deputy sheriffs and are authorized to perform police services in all of Nebraska's 93 counties. (See the Nebraska State Patrol website.)

[edit] New Hampshire

The New Hampshire position of High Sheriff dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days. Today, there are 10 counties and 10 High Sheriffs in New Hampshire. The ten sheriffs are the highest ranking and most powerful uniformed law-enforcement officers in the state. The state constitution gives the sheriff and deputy sheriffs in each county full law-enforcement authority throughout the county. In 1911, this authority was expanded by the state legislature to include the entire state. Sheriffs are elected to two-year terms without term limits. The sheriff is responsible for patrol duties (depending on the county, this function may be limited), civil process, transport of prisoners, and criminal and civil warrants. Most county sheriff's offices provide dispatch service for many of the county's communities. Sheriffs are also responsible for the security in all the county courthouses throughout the state. Finally, sheriff are responsible for the prisoners in the local district courts throughout the state.

[edit] New Jersey

Sheriffs in New Jersey are sworn law-enforcement officers with full arrest powers.[6] They also serve writs and other legal process and perform court-security functions. In some counties, responsibility for the county jail rests with the sheriff's office; in other counties, this responsibility rests with a separate corrections department. In most counties, the police functions provided by the sheriff's office are limited to patrolling county property such as parks, courts, county facilities, and roads; plus, providing specialized units and support to local police, e.g., bomb squads, emergency response (SWAT) and investigative units. Bergen County also has a separate county-wide police force, which fulfills many of the police functions provided by sheriff's offices in other counties.

Essentially, all areas of New Jersey are incorporated municipalities and the vast majority have their own local police agencies that provide general law enforcement. Sheriff's offices or the New Jersey State Police provide primary law enforcement in only a few rural areas that lack local police.

[edit] New York

Like most other states, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in the State of New York are regular law-enforcement officers with full police powers and duties such as patrol work, prisoner transport, civil process, and court security. Many sheriffs' offices in New York State also have canine, marine, aviation and SWAT units, as well as various other specialized units. Counties with deputy sheriffs are Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester (as well as New York City). Until recently, most sheriff's officers wore a standardized uniform (black pants, black shirt with dark gray Stetson hat) and all patrol vehicles were marked in the same manner (white with red stripes, etc.). Several counties have moved away from these practices. Patrol cars in these counties have different vehicle markings, and deputy sheriffs wear different uniforms. Some examples are Ulster County, which has dark gray uniforms similar to the New York State Police; and Warren County, whose deputy sheriffs wear tan shirts with dark brown pants. Currently there are 57 county sheriff's offices and one city sheriff's office which covers the five boroughs (counties) of New York City. The largest sheriff's office in New York State is the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office with around 300 deputy sheriffs and 1,000 correction officers, followed by the Nassau County Sheriff's Department with around 100 deputy sheriffs and 1,000 correction officers.

[edit] New York City
A New York city sheriff's car
A New York city sheriff's car

The City of New York has a single Sheriff's Office serving the entire city. The Administrative Division, headed by the New York City Sheriff and his staff, controls the five county divisions (each corresponding to a borough). The department also has five Undersheriffs, one per borough, and deputy sheriffs plus clerical staff. The sheriff is appointed by the Mayor of New York City and reports to the Commissioner of Finance of the city's Department of Finance. The sheriff's duties embrace the entire field of law, both criminal and civil. He is traditionally the chief peace officer in his jurisdiction and, like any peace officer, is required by law to take appropriate action when breaches of the criminal law occur. In New York City, the sheriff continues to maintain the dual role of enforcing judicial process as well as keeping the peace whenever called upon by the citizenry or the court system. The New York City Sheriff's Department carries out civil functions such as serving process and writs; evictions; serving mental hygiene and Family court warrants; enforcing traffic and parking laws; and conducting sheriff's sales. The other traditional functions of a sheriff's office, such as court security and guarding prisoners, are handled by New York State Court Officers (a state agency) and the New York City Department of Corrections, a city agency. The City Marshal also performs some overlapping duties such as evictions. There are currently about 150 deputy sheriffs employed by the NYC Sheriff's Office. Deputies have full police-officer powers and are allowed to carry firearms on and off duty (as per the New York State Penal Code).

[edit] Ohio

Until Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, the position of Sheriff was filled through appointments made at the pleasure of the Territorial Governor, Arthur St. Clair. The first Sheriff on the record in Ohio was Colonel Ebenezer Sproat. At the time he was appointed in 1788, Colonel Sproat's jurisdiction covered all of Washington County. This enormous area of land included all of eastern Ohio from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

After statehood, only three public offices in Ohio were filled via the electoral-process system. The position of Sheriff was one of them. Through this new system, William Skinner became the first elected Sheriff in the Buckeye State. Since the early 1800s, Ohio sheriffs have been elected on the county level by the people they serve. By virtue of this process, this office has become the oldest law-enforcement position in the United States.[citation needed] The term of office for county sheriffs in Ohio is four years.

In each of the 88 counties of Ohio, the sheriff is the chief law-enforcement officer. His primary duties are to provide common pleas court services and corrections on a countywide basis, and full police protection to the unincorporated areas of the county. However, he also maintains full police jurisdiction in all municipalities, townships, and villages. In an effort to become consistent on a statewide level, Ohio sheriffs and deputies wear a standardized uniform, and all patrol vehicles are marked in the same manner.

Within Ohio, sheriff's offices have probably one of the most extensive sets of responsibilities to those they serve. By statute they must provide the following: line law enforcement; court security and service of papers; jail operations; extradition process; and transportation of prisoners.Buckeye State Sheriff's Association

[edit] Oklahoma

Oklahoma's Sheriffs, whose primary role is as an officer of the court, provide full services, that is, providing tradition law-enforcement functions such as countywide patrol and investigations. As the chief peace officer of each of Oklahoma's 77 counties, the Sheriffs serve and execute all process, writs, precepts and orders issued or made by lawful authorities, namely the courts. The Sheriff's office also provides security for judges and courthouses. The Sheriffs are in charge of and have custody over the jail of their county, and all the prisoners in the jail are under the Sheriff's supervision, with the Sheriff serving as the county's jailer.

Under their law-enforcement responsibilities, the Sheriffs are responsible for ensuring that the peace is preserved, riots are suppressed, and that unlawful assemblies and insurrections are controlled throughout their county. To ensure justice is administered, the Sheriff is empowered to apprehend any person charged with a felony or breach of the peace and may attend any court within the county. The Sheriffs are also empowered to conscript any person or persons of their county that they may deem necessary to fulfill their duties.

[edit] Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania sheriffs may have all the traditional sheriff powers, but in practice perform only traditional court-related functions since the establishmant of the Pennsylvania State Police in 1905. The status of Pennsylvania's county sheriffs was in a legal gray area for many years. While sheriffs routinely provided court security, prisoner transport, and civil process services, it was unclear whether they had actual law-enforcement powers. In the 1970s through the early 1990s, a number of defendants charged by deputy sheriffs with crimes attempted to suppress the results of their arrests on the basis that the deputies were not bona fide law-enforcement officers. In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Leet, a 1991 decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, a 2–1 majority of the Court held that deputy sheriffs had no law-enforcement powers. That decision was reversed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a 1994 decision by Justice John P. Flaherty, which held that sheriffs do indeed have the power to enforce motor-vehicle laws. In his majority opinion, Justice Flaherty spent a great deal of time exploring the historical roots of the office of Sheriff and concluded that the powers developed as a matter of common law:

“ Though it may be unnecessary to cite additional authority, Blackstone confirms the common law power of the sheriff to make arrests without warrant for felonies and for breaches of the peace committed in his presence. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Common Law, Vol. IV, at 289. Indeed, such powers are so widely known and so universally recognized that it is hardly necessary to cite authority for the proposition. To make the point, how few children would question that the infamous Sheriff of Nottingham had at least the authority to arrest Robin Hood. ”

Presently, every Pennsylvania county has a Sheriff's Office. This has led to some overlap in places such as Allegheny County, where the Allegheny County Police is responsible for supporting local law-enforcement and patrolling county-owned property, including the Pittsburgh International Airport. Similarly, the Delaware County Courthouse and Park Police Department provides security police functions. With the newly expanded powers of the County Sheriff, however, this has led to some power struggles. Another example is the Philadelphia Sheriff's Department, which has made clear its intent to carry out community law-enforcement while continuing its statutory duties.[7] This would obviously conflict with the role of the Philadelphia Police Department.

[edit] Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Division of the State Sheriff is a state executive office with an Executive High Sheriff responsible for State Sheriff operations and 3 county sheriffs responsible for County duties. Rhode Island counties provide only judicial functions.

The Rhode Island State Sheriff's Department is comprised of one hundred, ninety-six men and women who are assigned to various job functions within Rhode Island's four County Court facilities (Providence County, Kent County, Newport County and Washington County. The court facility in Bristol County was closed in 2002.) and our Inmate Custody, Control and Transportation Unit (Located in Cranston).

The functions of the Department include Courtroom/Judicial Security, Court Facility and Cellblock Operation, Inmate Transportation, Interstate Extraditions, Interstate Inmate Transfers, Writ Service, Body Attachments, Fugitive Apprehension, Narcotics Interdiction, Search and Rescue, and Special Operations.

The Executive High Sheriff is responsible for the overall administration of the Department. He works with a command staff consisting of a Major, County Sheriffs, Chief Deputy Sheriffs, Captains, Lieutenants and Sergeants. Kent, Newport and Washington Counties each have a County Sheriff who are charged with the responsibility of supervising their respective county court facility and all assigned personnel.

[edit] Tennessee

The Tennessee Constitution requires each county to elect a sheriff to a four-year term. In all Tennessee counties except one, the sheriff is an official with full police powers, usually county-wide, although Tennessee sheriffs and their deputies generally perform the patrol portion of their duties primarily in unincorporated areas of their counties if the municipalities have their own police departments. The exception to the rule is Davidson County. In Davidson County, the sheriff has only civil process and jail functions without the common law powers to keep the peace. Protection of the peace is instead the responsibility of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department under the county's Metropolitan Charter.

[edit] Texas

The Texas Constitution (Article 5, Section 23) provides for the election of a sheriff in each county. Currently, the term of office for Texas sheriffs is four years. However, when vacancies arrise, the commissioners court of the respective county will appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term.

In Texas, sheriffs and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in unincorporated and incorporated areas of a county [8]; however, they primarily provide law enforcement services for only the unincorporated areas of a county, while yielding to municipal police or city marshals to provide law enforcement services for the incorporated areas.

The duties of a Texas sheriff generally include keeping the county jail, providing bailiffs for the county and district courts within his county and serving process issued therefrom, and providing general law enforcement services to residents.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office is the largest sheriff’s office in Texas, with a sworn employee count of 2,537 in 2005 [9]. In 2000, 60% of deputies were assigned to jail operations, 26% to patrol, 12% to investigations, and 1% to process serving [10].

[edit] Washington

In Washington State, the sheriff of thirty-eight of the thirty-nine counties is an elected official serving a four-year term - the exception is the county of Pierce, which has an appointed sheriff.

The voters of Pierce County voted to pass Charter Amendment 1 on November 7th 2006 to change the sheriff's position from appointed to elected. The first sheriff's election in 30 years will be held in 2008.

The sheriff is the chief law-enforcement officer of a county and is empowered to enforce the criminal laws of the State of Washington and the county their office represents, as well as to serve or execute civil processes (such as court orders, evictions, property foreclosures, tax warrants); to maintain county jails; to provide courthouse security; and to provide general law enforcement in unincorporated areas. In many cities, police services are contracted to the sheriff's department in lieu of a city police department. Powers and duties of the county sheriffs of Washington State can be found in Chapter 36.28 RCW.

[edit] West Virginia

In West Virginia, the sheriff of a given county performs two distinct duties. They are the chief law-enforcement officers in the county, although much of this duty is handled by their chief deputies. They are also responsible for the collection of any taxes due to the county. While many sheriffs have a background in professional law enforcement, others are politicians or other local notables. West Virginia sheriffs are limited to two consecutive four-year terms.

[edit] Early modern usage

"The sheriff is an officer of high respectability in our juridical system, and was known to the most early ages of the common law." (James Wilson, Lectures on Law, vol. 2, chapter 7, "The subject continued. Of sheriffs and coroners.") At the time Wilson stated this, in 1790-1, the powers and duties of a sheriff were "in general, coincident with those of a [marshal]." At that time, marshals were appointed "for each district for the term of four years; but [were] removable from... office at pleasure." According to the then state of constitutional law, the "president nominates, and, with the advice and consent of the senate, appoints him."

Wilson also notes that the office of coroner is, "in many instances, a necessary substitute: for if the sheriff is interested in a suit, or if he is of affinity with one of the parties to a suit, the coroner must execute and return the process of the courts of justice." (Ibid.)

[edit] Famous American sheriffs

[edit] Fictional American sheriffs

Many Western movies feature sheriffs of frontier towns who are either corrupt weaklings or glorious heroes who eventually rid their towns of all their mean elements. See Destry Rides Again and Dodge City for two examples of the latter type.

[edit] See also

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