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Sheriff
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A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.
The word "sheriff" is a contraction of the term "shire reeve". The term, from the Old English scirgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a "reeve") throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king.
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A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.
The word "sheriff" is a contraction of the term "shire reeve". The term, from the Old English scirgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a "reeve") throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king. The term was preserved in England notwithstanding the Norman Conquest. From England the term spread to several other countries, like Scotland, Ireland, and the United States.
The position of sheriff now exists in various countries:
- Sheriffs are administrative legal officials (similar to bailiffs) in Ireland, Australia, and Canada.
- Sheriffs are judges in Scotland.
- Sheriff is a ceremonial position in England, Wales and India.
- In the United States of America the role of a sheriff varies between different states and counties. In many rural areas, sheriffs and their deputies are the principal form of police, while in urban areas they may have more specialized duties, such as prisoner transport, serving warrants, service of process or police administration.
In British English, the political or legal office of a sheriff is called a shrievalty.
History
See article History of the sheriff
Early modern usage
"The sheriff is an officer of high respectability in our judicial 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."
Modern usage
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 judgements, acting as a coroner, the transportation of prisoners, managing the gaols, and carrying out executions (through the employment of an anonymous hangman).
Currently, 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 judgement debtors who do not satisfy the debt), providing court security, enforcing arrest warrants, evictions, taking juveniles into custody and running the jury system.
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, provincial police or Royal Canadian Mounted Police as appropriate.
Alberta
In 2006 the Province of Alberta expanded the duties of the provincial Sheriffs department to include tasks such as Traffic Enforcement,VIP Protection, Investigation and Fugitive Apprehension(FASST). As of June 2008 the Provincial Sheriffs department consists of 105 Traffic Sheriffs who are assigned to one of seven regions in the province. Sheriffs also assist various Police Service in Alberta with Prisoner management ie. Oilers/Flames Playoffs and Canada Day. In October 2008, the Alberta Sheriffs will introduce the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Unit (SCAN).
India
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 welcome foreign guests. The post is second to the mayor in the protocol list.
United Kingdom
England and Wales
The High Sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement position in Anglosphere countries. The High Sheriff of an English or Welsh county is an unpaid, partly ceremonial post appointed by The Crown through a Warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of Cornwall.
Historically, the court officers empowered to enforce High Court writs were called Sheriffs or Sheriff's Officers. In April 2007 they were replaced by High Court enforcement officers.
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 alder manic sheriff is then likely to become Lord Mayor in due course.
Scotland
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 a court of first instance for the majority of 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.
Sheriffs are usually advocates and, increasingly, solicitors with many years of 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.
Ireland
In Ireland, a sheriff can be either:
In both cases sheriffs are charged with enforcing civil judgements against debtors within their bailiwick. Outside Dublin and Cork the County Registrar carries out the functions of the sheriff regarding judgements.
The Dublin and Cork sheriffs also perform all the duties of returning officers in elections (other than local elections) and some other duties concerning pounds. Sheriffs may appoint court messengers, subject to approval of the Minister for Justice, to assist them with their work.
United States
In the United States a sheriff is generally (but not always) the highest, law enforcement officer of a county. A sheriff is in most cases elected by the population of the county. In some states the sheriff is officially titled "High Sheriff", although the title is very rarely actually used.
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.) A sworn law enforcement officer working for an agency headed by a Sheriff is called a Sheriff's Deputy, Sheriff Deputy, Deputy Sheriff, Sheriff's Officer, or Sheriff's Police and is so called because he or she is 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 the full title is sometimesDeputy 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 some counties, the undersheriff is the Warden of the county Jail or other local Correctional institution.
In some areas of the United States, the sheriff is also responsible for collecting the taxes and may have other titles such as Tax Collector or County Treasurer. Although rare, the sheriff may also be responsible for the county civil defense, emergency disaster service, rescue service, or emergency management.
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. In Vermont, for instance, the sheriff (elected) is primarily an officer of the County Court, whose duties include running the county jail and serving papers in lawsuits and foreclosures. Law enforcement patrol is performed as well, in support of State Police and in the absence of a municipal police agency in rural towns. Some such towns contract with the Sheriff to provide dedicated law enforcement presence in lieu of creating a local police force.
Sheriff offices may coexist with other county level law enforcement agencies such as the County police, County park police, county detectives etc.
The New York City Sheriff is appointed by the mayor and his/her jurisdiction covers all five county-boroughs of New York City (King's County, Queen's County, Richmond County, Bronx County and New York County). The New York Sheriff is responsible to the city's Finance Department.
See also
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