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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Del. High Court Deciding Whether State’s Sheriffs Have Arrest Powers

DOVER, Del. — The Delaware Supreme Court is weighing whether sheriffs in Delaware have the authority to arrest people after a hearing Wednesday in a legal battle between Sussex County Sheriff Jeff Christopher and state and county officials.

Christopher, a Republican elected in 2010 with the support of tea party voters, sued the state and county last year, arguing that he is embodied with police powers by Delaware’s constitution of 1897 because it names sheriffs, along with other officials, as “conservators of the peace.”

Christopher argues that as conservators of the peace, he and his deputies have the same arrest powers as police and that their duties are not limited to conducting foreclosure sales and serving court papers.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If he gets shot down this time he really needs to drop it.

Anonymous said...

They absolutely should . Ad of now they're high priced process servers with guns and cop cars.

Anonymous said...

Leftist liberals dislike Sheriffs because they can't control them like appointed police chiefs. Sheriffs are elected and accountable to the citizens whom elect them. There is no logical reason why a sheriff should not have arrest powers.

Anonymous said...

Duh, I always thought this was a no-brainer. But, I'm still young and dumb @ 59.

Anonymous said...

Just another instance of politicians ignoring the constitution ... Just make up your own laws like Ob'.