The Office of the Sheriff has existed for over one thousand (1000)
years and is the oldest law enforcement position in the United States.
The word Sheriff is derived from the Shire-reeve, who was the most
powerful English law authority figure, even before 1000 A.D. The
Shire-reeve, in contrast to a reeve (in charge of mere tenths), was
responsible for both the order of the land within his banded group of
a hundred families (shire) and the call of the "hue and cry". The hue
and cry made every citizen in earshot of the sheriff's call lawfully
obligated to join in a posse-commitatas, or group, which banded to
catch criminals.
Additional Links
History of the Sheriff
A past, present and future
The Sheriff Politically Speaking
Legal Power of the Sheriff
New Jersey History
A PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE FOR THE OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF top
(Based on the National Sheriff's Association booklet: The Role Of The
Sheriff Past - Present - Future)
The exact date of the very first sheriff undertaking his sworn duties
to protect the lives and property of those under his jurisdiction can
not be determined due to ambiguous historical findings from all over
the World. All of these findings point towards some type of prototype
sheriff. Many historians believe that the ancient Roman pro-consul was
perhaps the first sheriff-like authority. Other historians believe
that a prototype sheriff appeared first in Saxon Germany. Still more
have discovered that there was an Arab chief or prince who was the
descendant of Mahammed, through his daughter Fatima, and was known as
the sharif - translated to mean illustrious or noble.
In 600 B.C., the Chaldean King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was noted
in the Book of Daniel as being in the company of the sheriff during
the setting up of the golden image. This demonstrates that the early
recordings of the Holy Bible provide a 2600 year old reference of an
existing sheriff. It is true, however, that clear references and
recording of sheriffs are a uniquely English achievement.
Historian W. Morris wrote in his book about sheriffs that "The office
of the sheriff is one of the most familiar and most useful to be found
in the history of English institutions,...,with the single exception
of kingship, no secular dignity now known to English-speaking people
is older." Writer Walter H. Anderson, in his book, stated that "The
office of the sheriff is one of antiquity" and "is the oldest law
enforcement office known within the common-law system and it has
always been accorded great dignity and high trust."
Thomas Jefferson wrote in his The value of Constitutions, that "there
is no honorable law enforcement authority in Anglo-American law so
ancient as that of the county sheriff whose role as a peace officer
goes back at least to the time of Alfred the Great." All of these men
have shown the possibility that even though there may have been
sheriff like people in other cultures and times, today's sheriff is
essentially a direct descendant of the English sheriffs. It is known
that even the English sheriff was once referred to as a shire reeve,
and perhaps it is true that the shire reeve was a descendant of these
sheriff-like people of other lands.
The sheriff was created because laws needed enforcing. An interesting
way to track the roots of the sheriff is to study the written laws of
Kings in ancient times. One of the first Kings to do so was
Lipit-Istar, the King of Isin in 2207 B.C. He developed legally
binding guidelines to curb the behavior of his Sumerian subjects. A
little over a hundred years later, Babylonian King Hammurabi, devised
the well known and still studied codification system affectionately
called the Codes of Hammurabi. In 1500 B.C., King Thutmose III spoke
of justice when appointing Justice Rekhmire. All of these scenarios
point to a building up of a legal system in the Egyptian era.
Jews were eventually ordered to follow and obey the first five books
of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch, showing recorded law
near the Roman era. Assyrians and Chinese governments attempted
codified laws and the Code of Manu was used by India. As the Roman era
was well underway, a digest of Roman law was created in 450 A.D. This
was improved in 550 A.D. by Justinian. As all of these were forged,
there must have been some type of enforcement by authority figures,
whether the kings themselves or their armies. It may be possible that
the sheriff role was merely a title of one who enforces.
Then the Magna Carta was written and signed by King John in 1215 A.D.,
nearly 800 years ago. The sheriffs had already existed and were known
under this sir title. Sheriffs had been recognized as principle
participants in the drama of government, seated just under the crown's
barons in hierarchy. Their duties and responsibilities mostly carried
over as America was established.
The English creation of the sheriff and the common law was forged
through the earlier influence of morals and values from the Angles,
Saxons, and the Normans. Their belief in home rule over government
control spawned the establishment of the tuns (towns) that eventually
became the tenths of land that banded together to fight in their wars.
As the tenths banded into hundredths and small counties formed
(reeves), they needed to be headed by a chief, called a gerefa. The
garefa eventually became the word reeve in the Saxon language. The
garefas and the chiefs of the smaller tenths, known as tithingmen,
possessed both tribal judicial and tribal police authority. There was
no government centralization until in 827 A.D. This is when Egbert,
King of Wessex won the loyalty of all the people in the tribes, newly
referred to as "Englishmen".
Alfred the Great created a system of freemen pledging the good
behavior of their neighbor, in sort of a prototype neighborhood watch.
A reeve was created to sound an alarm when criminals escaped from the
early jail. This alarm was the repeated shouting of the words hue and
cry and ironically was the ancestor of the citizen's arrest.
(The Hue and Cry, from Irene Gladwin's book: The Sheriff)
England continued to expand and the larger, more modern, counties
formed and were called shires. The reeves put in charge of the large
counties were called shire reeves in order to distinguish them from
the smaller county reeves. England then became a very war torn
country, there was the Norman Invasion, the fall of Hastings and the
subsequent end to Saxon rule over England.
The Norman influence over England only strengthened the power of the
sheriff. He became government oriented and lost his home rule
ideology. As government taxed the people the sheriff took on a new
responsibility to enforce taxation. Norman rule, however, was greatly
abusive and faced constant rebellion from the Englishmen. In 1199
Richard the Lionhearted died and his despotic brother, John, inherited
the throne and pushed the crown to its limit. His own barons and
sheriffs rebelled against him and he was forced to sign the prior
mentioned Magna Carta. This document became the proverbial
"cornerstone" from which the British and American governments were to
proliferate their power. There were at the very least, nine (9)
mentions of the office of sheriff in the Magna Carta.
Discovery and conquering of new land became central to the English
Crown. America was discovered and potentially named after the High
Sheriff of Bristol, Richard Amerycke, by error in the reading of a
voyage map (this is a recent theory that contrasts the theory of the
country being named after Amerigo Vespucci). As colonies were
established, the sheriff's office was copied into the local culture
and law. The first such transition of the English Sheriff to American
soil was in Virginia in 1634. Sheriff's were still appointed by the
King and was an extension of royal authority and representative of the
King. There is a record of a sheriff being elected by popular vote as
early as 1651, but this was highly irregular for the rules of the era.
Unlike the latter English sheriffs who put great expense out of their
pockets to perform the duty as sheriff, the American sheriff was very
profitable. This was attributed to the lack of pomp and ceremony that
existed in England and the need their to entertain. All men sought
this highly prestigious position in the colonies. Maryland,
coincidentally, became a close second in establishing the office of
the sheriff in the United States.
As Colonial times continued the Sheriff faced some unique and never
before experienced problems. Travel was very difficult in America as
there was no infrastructure and no address system. This meant that the
sheriff had to take advantage of the culture and knowing colonists
attended church, would wait at the churches of those he needed to
serve papers at. This was a very secular and ecclesiastical issue that
caused the churches to lobby for banning sheriffs from their premises
in official capacities. Despite any hard feelings, sheriffs were
provided their own seats at church and they counter lobbied for laws
requiring ministers to read the sheriffs' proclamations on two
successive Sundays, thus still allowing them to get their man.
Ironically, the sheriff became charged with the responsibility of
dealing with religious non-conformists.
As the western frontier was explored, the sheriff's office also moved
into establishment out west. Settlers became the targets and prey of
Indians, thieves and bandits. Everyone needed to protect their gold
and oil. The sheriffs of the west became very busy in a hostile
environment, becoming sub-divided into two (2) categories, the quick
and the dead.
Today the functions of the sheriff are influenced by the social and
political climates of a modern society. People still like to elect
their top law enforcement officials in their counties and many people
still covet the office. Even non-law enforcement experienced citizens
run for the office. The sheriff of today is still the great man of his
county.
As the office of the sheriff moves into the future, there is a
distinct difference from the earlier sheriffs. This is for the concern
of training. The sheriff has always had to adopt to change and is
perhaps the most resistant law enforcement authority to stubborn
bureaucracy and being unaccustomed to change. Training is the best way
to continue this trend as modern society finds new ways to commit
crimes and use technology to aid them in their unlawful actions.
THE SHERIFF - POLITICALLY SPEAKING top
The Sheriff offers the people under his county jurisdiction, the most
effective liaison to law enforcement. When citizens have a complaint
concerning some problem in their county, the Sheriff is ultimately
their best remedy. Although modern times have placed more glamorous
attention on local and state police, they create a myriad of problems
in reality.
The Sheriff can respond faster to any citizen's complaint then any
police department. This is one of the many forgotten powers of the
Sheriff in the minds of the citizenry. His fast and efficient
abilities for handling such concerns are derived from his
constitutional foundation.
As an elected law enforcement representative, he has great political
power on the direction, time spent, and discretion of any request from
a constituent. This is in stark contrast to the bureaucratic red tape
of the modern, contracted police authority.
LEGAL POWER OF THE SHERIFF top
Today, especially in the northeast portion of the United States, there
is some controversy over the legal power and authority of the modern
day sheriffs. A March-April 2000 issue of Sheriff magazine addressed
this issue head-on and appears to be the most recent clarification of
the sheriff authority. Even though the title has been altered at times
within the last 1200 years, the legal authority has remained almost
fully resistant to change.
Looking at a six (6) year old Pennsylvania Supreme Court case, the
court held that the "constitutionally designated sheriff in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a law enforcement officer who is
vested with full powers and duties to stop motor vehicles, issue
citations for motor vehicle violations under statutory code, and make
arrests with or without warrants" (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs.
Leet, 585 A.2d 1033). Sheriffs and their deputies are basically police
officers. Judge Carillo, who presided over this case, even went as far
as writing how "instinctively,..., we are reminded of Sherwood Forest,
where the Sheriff of Nottingham was the chief law enforcement officer
who possessed far-reaching powers" and "King Henry of England states
to the Sheriff of Nottingham,...But look well to it, Master Sheriff,
for I will have my laws obeyed by all men within my kingdom, and if
thou art not able to enforce them, thou art no sheriff for me."
For many years it has been known that modern sheriffs are vested with
the powers and duties possessed by their predecessors under common
law. In 1941, a landmark graduate student dissertation was written by
an A. Anderson and stated "While the legislature may impose additional
duties upon the sheriff, where he is recognized as a constitutional
officer, it cannot restrict or reduce his powers as allowed by the
Constitution, or where they were recognized when the constitution was
adopted." Anderson continued on to say, "The legislature may vary the
duties of a constitutional office, but it may not change the duties so
as to destroy the power to perform the duties of the office."
Anderson found that it was legally acceptable for state legislatures
to impose upon sheriffs new duties growing out of public policy or
convenience. However, the state legislatures still can not strip the
sheriffs of their "time honored and common law functions". The
legislatures cannot "devolve them upon the incumbents of other offices
created by legislative authority." From this, today's sheriffs have
both expressed constitutional and statutory grants of authority. They
also have implied authority based on their predecessors actions and
can utilize it when it will aid their expressed authority.
The modern sheriffs' provinces and scope of authority can be
determined by studying the modern day legislation. The sheriff has the
right and duty to enforce any of this legislation as it concerns
securing the peace, order, safety, and comfort of the community under
his jurisdiction. In enforcing such legislation, the sheriff satisfies
his constitutional obligations in enforcing the democracy's laws,
protecting the lives and property of it's people, and safeguarding the
health and morals of the community.
As the sheriffs were appointed in the New World, they acquired the
power of arrest for all offenses attempted or committed in their
presence, without a warrant. Any felony committed not in their
presence could also be reasonable grounds for an arrest under the
ancient common law, matching the exact measure for an arrest by any
police officer today with one modern day addition - articulable facts
leading a reasonable police officer to believe there exists probable
cause that the crime did, is, or will occur.
In conclusion, modern sheriff duties are performed by order of the
people instead of by order of the King or Queen, so it is easy to see
how the legal authority is politically oriented. Sheriffs can maneuver
through court battles involving a challenge to their authority and
come out successfully when they address the legal protections of their
office concerning their constitutional obligations, and no legal
system or authority in the United States can challenge it with any
standing. As so, the sheriff and his deputies have retained their
authority to arrest without a warrant for all crimes, however defined,
committed in their presence, and for felonies not committed in their
presence. These powers could not be truncated when the American legal
system changed from common law to statutory law due to the verbiage of
the Constitution, so the Sheriff exists as both an ancient and a
modern authority.
On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 12:53 PM, plainolamerican
<plainolamerican@gmail.com> wrote:
> "Sheriff" isn't this the way it was originally done??
> ---
> The United States inherited England's Anglo-Saxon common law and its
> system of social obligation, sheriffs, constables, watchmen, and
> stipendiary justice. As both societies became less rural and agrarian
> and more urban and industrialized, crime, riots, and other public
> disturbances became more common. Yet Americans, like the English, were
> wary of creating standing police forces. Among the first public police
> forces established in colonial North America were the watchmen
> organized in Boston in 1631 and in New Amsterdam (later New York City)
> in 1647.
>
> In 1789 the US Marshals Service was established, followed by other
> federal services such as the US Parks Police and US Mint Police
> (1792). The first city police services were established in
> Philadelphia in 1751,[22] Richmond, Virginia in 1807,[23] Boston in
> 1838,[24] and New York in 1845. The US Secret Service was founded in
> 1865 and was for some time the main investigative body for the federal
> government.[26]
> A Deputy U.S. Marshal covers his fellow officers with an M4 carbine
> during a "knock-and-announce" procedure
>
> After the civil war, policing became more para-military in character,
> with the increased use of uniforms and military ranks. Before this,
> sheriff's offices had been non-uniformed organizations without a para-
> military hierarchy.[
>
> In recent years, in addition to federal, state, and local forces, some
> special districts have been formed to provide extra police protection
> in designated areas. These districts may be known as neighborhood
> improvement districts, crime prevention districts, or security
> districts.
>
> In 2005, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that police do
> not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm.
>
> On Apr 11, 12:42 pm, THE ANNOINTED ONE <markmka...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Except for the "Sheriff" isn't this the way it was originally done??
>>
>> On Apr 11, 11:16 am, Bruce Majors <majors.br...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > -------
>>
>> > Submitted for discussion:
>>
>> >http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/11/can-volunteers-protect-communities
>>
>> > __._,_.___
>> > Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic
>> > Messages in this topic (1)
>> > Recent Activity:
>>
>> > Visit Your Group
>> > Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use
>> > .
>> > __,_._,___
>
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