The Sheriff under the Law

  • Only mention in US/State Constitution is MO Constitution Article V Sec 27 4(b):

    b. Upon the effective date of this article, the office of constable serving magistrate courts is abolished. The functions, powers and duties of such constables shall be transferred to and be performed by the sheriff of the county or the sheriff of the city of St. Louis.

  • Mo Constitution Article III, Sec. 40

    The general assembly shall not pass any local or special law:
    ...
    (21) creating offices, prescribing the powers and duties of officers in, or regulating the affairs of counties, cities, townships, election or school districts;

    • Also applies to municipalities
    • So state and cities may not interfere with the office of Sheriff (within his county and with reference to his county duties)
      • The sheriff is a county officer within the meaning of the constitutional provisions for county charters, and particularly §§ 18(b) and 18(e), Art VI, which means that in Chartered counties, the county charter may allocate the duties of the sheriff differently than the legislative statutes.  State ex rel. Shamble v. Gamble, 365 Mo. 215, 225, 280 S.W.2d 656, 1955 Mo. LEXIS 574 (Mo. 1955).  Charter County may also eliminate the office of Sheriff (as with St. Louis County) in its charter Mo Constitution Art VI Sec 18(b)
    • ​Independence from Federal Government:  The Federal government does not have the power to direct the office of the Sheriff.  “Residual state sovereignty was also implicit, of course, in the Constitution's conferral upon Congress of not all governmental powers, but only discrete, enumerated ones, Art. I, § 8, which implication was rendered express by the Tenth Amendment's  assertion that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 919 (U.S. 1997) “The Federal Government may not compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program. The mandatory obligation imposed on CLEOs to perform background checks on prospective handgun purchasers plainly runs afoul of that rule.” Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 933 (U.S. 1997).
  • In MO, the voters of every county elect a sheriff every four years at each general election.  The sheriff takes office on the first day of January following the general election.  MO RS section 57.010
  • The qualifications, duties and restrictions on the office of sheriff are set forth in the Missouri Statutes (particularly chapter 57) and the Missouri Constitution.  Applicable rules may vary depending on the county classification.
    • Lawrence County, Missouri is a class 3 county, non-chartered.
  • Statutory Qualifications to be eligible for sheriff:
    • No person shall be eligible for the office of sheriff who has been convicted of a felony.
    • Such person shall be a resident taxpayer and elector of said county, shall have resided in said county for more than one whole year next before filing for said office and shall be a person capable of efficient law enforcement.   R.S.MO. 57.010
  • Sherriff needs to be a peace officer:  Beginning January 1, 2003, any sheriff who does not hold a valid peace officer license pursuant to chapter 590 shall refrain from personally executing any of the police powers of the office of sheriff, including but not limited to participation in the activities of arrest, detention, vehicular pursuit, search and interrogation. Nothing in this section shall prevent any sheriff from administering the execution of police powers through duly commissioned deputy sheriffs. (Upon election has a 12 month grace period to obtain peace officer license)
  • Peace Officer Licensing:   Licensing as a Peace Officer is regulated by the Missouri Post Commission.  The Commission is an eleven-member board representing the congressional districts of the state of Missouri. The Commission consists of three chiefs of police, three sheriffs, two peace officers at or below the rank of sergeant employed by a political subdivision, one licensed training center director, one representative of a state law enforcement agency and one public member. Each are appointed by the Governor for a three-year term. Each commissioner, at the time of appointment, shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Missouri for at least one year and no more than two members may reside in the same congressional district as any other at the time of their appointments. 
    •  
      General Requirements to be a Peace Officer:
      ·          twenty one (21) years of age
      ·         is a United States citizen
      ·         is the holder of a valid high school diploma or its equivalent
      ·         is a graduate of a Basic Law Enforcement Training Center
      ·         has passed the Missouri Peace Officer License Exam
      ·         has no criminal history as outlined in Section 590.080.1 and Section 590.100.1, RSMo.
       
  •  
    Bond:   Within 15 days of being sworn in, every sheriff must post a bond between $15,000 and $50,000 conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties; which bond shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county. § 57.020 R.S.Mo.
  • Deputies:  The sheriff in counties of the third and fourth classifications (includes Lawrence) shall be entitled to such number of deputies and assistants, to be appointed by such official, with the approval of a majority of the circuit judges of the circuit court, as such judges shall deem necessary for the prompt and proper discharge of such sheriff's duties relative to the enforcement of the criminal law of this state. Such judges of the circuit court, in their order permitting the sheriff to appoint deputies or assistants, shall fix the compensation of such deputies or assistants. The circuit judges shall annually review their order fixing the number and compensation of the deputies and assistants and in setting such number and compensation shall have due regard for the financial condition of the county. § 57.250 R.S.Mo.  
    • Deputies must be resident of the county.  § 57.117 R.S.Mo.  Every deputy sheriff shall possess all the powers and may perform any of the duties prescribed by law to be performed by the sheriff. § 57.270 R.S.Mo.
    • Nepotism Restriction:  Any public officer or employee in this state who by virtue of his office or employment names or appoints to public office or employment any relative within the fourth degree, by consanguinity or affinity, shall thereby forfeit his office or employment.  Mo. Const. Art. VII, § 6.  Sheriff who appointed his wife's uncle to the position of deputy sheriff with the approval of the circuit court was removed from office by the appellate court in a quo warranto proceeding for appointing a relative within the fourth degree of affinity. State ex rel. Roberts v. Buckley, 533 S.W.2d 551, 1976 Mo. LEXIS 316 (Mo. 1976).
    •  
      Emergency Appointments:  In any emergency the sheriff shall appoint sworn deputies, who are residents of the county, possessing all the qualifications of sheriff. The deputies shall serve not exceeding thirty days, and shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties of deputy sheriffs, with like responsibilities, and for their services shall receive two dollars per day, to be paid out of the county treasury.  § 57.119 R.S.Mo.

 
 

  • Duties:  Every sheriff shall quell and suppress assaults and batteries, riots, routs, affrays and insurrections; shall apprehend and commit to jail all felons and traitors, and execute all process directed to him by legal authority, including writs of replevin, attachments and final process issued by circuit and associate circuit judges.  § 57.100 R.S.Mo.  
  • Sheriffs in counties of the third and fourth class may:
  1. Regularly patrol and police all public roads and highways within the county;
  2. Enforce all laws designed to safeguard and protect these roads and highways;
  3. Report all dangerous conditions on these roads and highways to the county commission or other road or highway supervising body. § 57.115 R.S.Mo.
  • The Sheriff’s office also is charged with service of process in civil cases and collecting executions of judgments.  § 57.280 R.S.Mo.  
  • The Sheriff is also required to aid and assist the jury commissioners in the county by conducting all investigations into the identity of all prospective jurors summoned for jury duty by the jury commissioners, and upon request of the board of jury commissioners, make and file a report with the board setting out the results of the investigation.  § 57.395 R.S.Mo.
  • Every 3 months, the sheriff shall file with the circuit court of the county a report on the conditions of the county jail, the number of prisoners confined in said jail, together with recommendations relating to its operation.  § 57.102 R.S.Mo.
  • Whenever any sheriff or deputy sheriff of any county in this state is expressly requested, in each instance, by a sheriff of an adjoining county of this state to render assistance, such sheriff or deputy shall have the same powers of arrest in such county as he has in his own jurisdiction.  § 57.111 R.S.Mo.  (No Dukes of Hazard county line prohibitions if neighboring sheriff asks for assistance!)
  • Revised Statutes of Missouri (RsMO) Ch. 57 for Class 3 County; Lawrence County is Class 3
  • Mack/Prinz vs the United States (also George Bush vs State of Texas)
  • 42 USC (1983) - The Civil RIghts Act of 1871
  • Castle Rock v. Gonzalez