Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/875

 SHERIFF 849 succeeded to almost all the authority, judicial and ministerial, that the comes or earl had hitherto possessed. Until the time of Edward II. the sheriff was elected by the inhabitants of the several counties; but a statute of the ninth year of that reign abolished election, and ever since, with few exceptions, the sheriff has been appointed, upon nomination by the king's councillors and the judges of certain ranks, by the approval of the crown. In some cities and towns the sheriff is elected either by the whole body of the freeholders or by some particular body of the corporation. London claims prescriptive right to elect her two sher- iffs. The office of sheriff is still in England one of eminent honor, and is conferred on the wealthiest and most notable commoners in the counties. The English sheriff, the sheriff of the common law, we may say, is the cus- todian of the county and the conservator of the king's peace therein. In virtue of these functions he is bound to apprehend all disturb- ers of the peace and bind them to good be- havior or commit them for examination, and to arrest and commit all felons. To these ends he has the right to summon to his aid whenever it is necessary the posse comitatus, or power of the county, and he has the cus- tody of the county jail. In a ministerial ca- pacity it is his office to execute all writs and processes directed to him by the superior courts of judicature, to take recognizances and bail, to summon juries, and to execute final process and judgments of the courts whether civil or criminal. As king's bailiff, he is to take into his charge all lands falling to the crown under attainders or by escheats, levy all fines and forfeitures, and collect all waifs and estrays. Finally, in his judicial ca- pacity he may adjudicate in certain petty civil suits. He also determines matters touching the election of knights of the shire, of coro- ners, and other officers. The sheriff retains in the United States many of the faculties of the sheriff at common law; yet his capacity in all respects is much dependent on the pro- visions of special statutes. His judicial pow- ers are particularly restricted here ; his du- ties are in fact almost entirely ministerial. Generally in the United States the sheriff, like every other considerable officer, is elected by the whole body of the people, and holds his office for a prescribed term of years. In New York and some other states he is ineligi- ble for the three years next succeeding his term of office. As he cannot perform in his own person the manifold duties of his office, the sheriff may appoint deputies. He is also in some states required to appoint an under sheriff. This officer is the equal of the sheriff himself, and acts in his stead in all respects when he is absent or his office is vacated. _ The sheriff may create as many general deputies as he thinks proper. The deputy sheriff in this country, though not in England, is an officer known and recognized by the law. He is sep- arately sworn, and has his distinct rights and liabilities. Primarily, however, the sheriff is responsible for all the deputy's defaults in respect to duties imposed by the law upon the sheriff. As conservator of the peace it is the duty of the sheriff (and generally speaking the deputy may do what the sheriff may do) to suppress all unlawful assemblages, to quell all riots and affrays, and to arrest and commit to jail, if need be, those engaged in the disturb- ance of the public order. For any breach of the peace or any crime or misdemeanor com- mitted within his view the sheriff may make an arrest without a warrant. To suppress an affray actually going on, he may even break into a dwelling house, and so he may if he is in fresh pursuit of one who has committed an offence within his view,' and there is danger that he may escape if he is not followed. "When the breach of the peace has been committed at a time past, it is the sheriff's duty in most cases to provide himself with a warrant before making an arrest. In the service of this pro- cess, the sheriff appears, in a ministerial capa- city, as the officer of the court which issues it. In making the arrest, the officer ought, prop- erly speaking, to show his warrant, and make known, to a reasonable degree, the contents and purport of it; but every person within his bailiwick is bound to take notice of his official character. If the warrant is issued for the arreat of one who has committed a felony, the sheriff may even break the outer door of a house in order to execute the process. If the warrant of arrest appears upon its face to be defective in any essential respect, it is abso- lutely void, and all who participate in the exe- cution of it are trespassers. The party arrested under a warrant ought to be brought presently before the court or magistrate who issued the process. The sheriff's duties and powers in the execution of civil process differ in some respects from those imposed upon him in the execution of process in criminal matters. On the one hand, the officer is liable to the suitor at whose instance the process issues, if through negligence or error he fails to perform his whole duty in the service of it ; while he is respon- sible to the party wronged if he exceeds the power conferred upon him. Wherever then he has reasonable grounds to doubt his author- ity to act in the premises, the sheriff may ask an indemnity. This is often done in cases where the title to property which is directed to be attached is doubtful, or where the officer questions the identity of a person whom he is ordered to arrest. Service of summons in a suit is made by reading it to the party to whom it is addressed, or ordinarily by delivering to him a copy of it, or by leaving the copy at his last usual place of residence. Attachment < property, as the first step in the suit, is un- known to the common law, and is founded upon statutes. To constitute a valid attach- ment of personal property, the officer must take actual possession of the goods. The sub-