Jul
30
THE OFFICE OF SHERIFF HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE MONARCHICAL GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND AND IT CONTINUED TO BE SO IN AMERICA UNTIL JULY 4, 1776. TODAY, THE SHERIFF IS A COUNTY EMPLOYEE CHOSEN BY AN ELECTION OF THE UNITED STATES CITIZEN OF THE COUNTY
Filed Under COMMON LAW, Declaration of Independence, LAW OF THE LAND, LEARNING THE LAW, Martial Law
When the Sheriff of Bristol County, Massachusetts established a program to charge prisoners for their custody, the inmates sued the Sheriff in, Richard Souza & others v. Sheriff of Bristol County, Supreme Judicial Court-10508 January 05, 2010. In deciding against the Sheriff, the court referred to an old volume that described the character and origin of the office of sheriff.
The office of the sheriff is one of considerable antiquity. The origin and earliest duties of the office is set forth in L.E. Hitchcock, Powers and Duties of Sheriffs, Constables, Tax Collectors, and Other Officers in the New England States § 4 (2d ed.1904), as follows:
“The office of Sheriff dates back to the early days of English history. Indeed it is sometimes claimed that it became a part of the government of England from the Roman law. As the people of England came gradually under one government the territory became divided, more or less arbitrarily, into counties; over each of which was placed an Earl, or Alderman; and this Earl, or Alderman, was supposed to be the ruler-subject of course to the King-over his county. But this Earl, from the privileges which he possessed and the duties which he was under in reference to his attendance upon the King, gradually ceased to exercise his powers himself, and they were in time delegated to an under-officer, called, in the Roman law, Vicecomes; in the Saxon tongue, Shire-reeve; or in the more modern terms, Sheriff. At first this under-officer, or Sheriff, was to administer the affairs of the county as the representative of the Earl; but in time his duties became more defined, and seem to have been fourfold,-as a Judge, as a Keeper of the Peace, as a Ministerial Officer, and as the King’s Bailiff.
“First, as a Judge. He held court and determined causes between parties wherein the value in dispute was not more than forty shillings, and also heard certain other civil causes. He was also the Judge of certain elections, and of the qualifications of voters.
“Second, as the Keeper of the Peace. Both by common consent and by special commission he became the first man in the county, and superior to all others while he continued in office. He had authority to apprehend persons for the commission of crimes or for breach of the peace, and it was his duty also to defend the county against all enemies of the King, and for this purpose he had power to summon all the people of the county to attend him. This summons every person over fifteen years old and not a peer was bound to obey upon warning.
“Third, as a Ministerial Officer. He was bound to execute all processes issuing from the King’s courts of justice. In the commencement of civil proceedings he had power to serve the writ, arrest and take bail, and, when the cause came to trial, to summon and return the Jury, and after the judgment to see that the same was carried into effect. In criminal matters, he had authority to arrest and imprison, to return the Jury, to have custody of the delinquent, and to execute the sentence.
“Fourth, as the King’s Bailiff. He was required to see that the rights of the King were preserved in his county, or bailiwick.”
All the sheriff’s power’s vanished when King George III was no longer the government in America.
The English common law didn’t vanish because the common law is firmly and permanently imbedded in the English language.
The word “Sheriff” survived the passing of the king although the sheriff was as much a part of the nobility as the king and queen.
The ghost of sheriffs past has been putting families out of their homes for far too long. A little learning is all it takes to put the sheriff in his place and out of yours. Enroll. Become a serious Student of the law and government. Ask me how at edrivera@edrivera.com
Dr. Eduardo M. Rivera
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