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Ancient History and Modern Constitutional Powers of American Sheriffs (Part 2/2)
By Kelly OConnell Sunday, March 31, 2013
US Sheriffs: Preservers of the Last Vestiges of Our Separation of Powers
This essay offers the second part of the history of the American sheriff. The first essay contained a history of the original sheriffs—England’s shire reeves— “the oldest appointment of the English crown.” America’s own sheriffs are a continuation of Britain’s, after which the British variety lost almost all of its power as the US type blossomed.
Now that the federal government has announced ambitions to limit gun rights, amongst many other new powers, a constitution-oriented group of sheriffs—the Oath Keepers—has decided to nullify these laws instead of applying them. It is quite possible that these Rogue Sheriffs represent the last vestiges of federalism and separation of powers meant to protect the citizens from an American tyranny. It is therefore quite fitting that the old West, independent lawman is being revived and updated to help save the American Republic. This article describes their rise, establishment and continuation as perhaps the last bulwark against Washington, DC tyranny.
I. History of Sheriffs of America
Ancient History and Modern Constitutional Powers of American Sheriffs (Part 1/2)
By Kelly OConnell Sunday, March 24, 2013
Can America’s sheriffs save our Constitution and our precious liberties? The exhaustive history of the sheriff has yet to be written, but much is known of the rise of these county leaders, once called shire reeves, in old England. Sheriffs are termed the “the oldest appointment of the English crown.” They represent transition from simple local rule to a nationalized attempt at keeping law and order. Sheriffs were first established when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were finally assembled into the Wessex-based Kingdom of England sometime around 1000 AD.
In the Colonies, the Crown established sheriffs, as done in Britain by royal decree. But, before long, the democratic process was employed to elect them. Today, they are the last bastion of popular representation in law enforcement.
Ironically, it now appears that the ancient sheriff, the last representative of popular, local federalism—might be the last chance for America to retain our civil liberties before the onslaught of Leviathan—the colossus of government tyranny.
This hope is best represented by the Oath Keepers, a group educating and supporting local sheriffs as defenders of our Constitution against creeping federal insurgency. Add to this the doctrine of Nullification, or refusal to apply unconstitutional laws, which sheriffs are now applying across America on various topics, such as gun regulations, and refusing federal demand for control.
Wierd, Unknown Drone Photographed Hovering Over Oakland Neighborhoods
Wierd, Unknown Drone Photographed Hovering Over Oakland Neighborhoods
Reaganite Republican ^ | 12 February 2013 | Reaganite Republican
Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 6:49:51 AM by Reaganite Republican
Isn’t it neat living in a faceless, futuristic police state?
East Germany would have KILLED for just one of these things!
The primary suspect in this case would be the Oakland-area Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, who recently released a statement
re. the department’s (rapidly) evolving policy (-here-) regarding aerial drones, which they refer to in army-speak as an sUAS, or ‘small Unmanned Aircraft System‘…
Seems they’re already rather-broadly approved within Alameda County for the following missions:
Post-incident crime scene preservation and documentation
Jim R. Schwiesow — The Transforming of Civilian Police Agencies Into Paramilitary Organizations
I truly value the mail that I receive from the old timers of law enforcement; they are a unique group of individuals. I used to love the profession and the people in it. When I entered into the profession 48 years ago it was a long suffering and put upon fraternity. The pay was rotten, the benefits nil, and appreciation seemed to be non-existent. Yet the people who filled the ranks were more dedicated and professional at that time than any other group of people in this nation.
Unfortunately I was a witness to a steady and progressive decline in the profession during the years that I was active in the law enforcement community. Ironically as the pay, benefits and other perks increased the professionalism seemed to decrease proportionally. And it seemed that every individual overblown local politician wanted a piece of the control over the internal affairs of the law enforcement agencies within their districts. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, civilian review boards and civil service boards came into being, and somewhat later there were unions to contend with. Then the government with its LEAA grants came upon the scene and law enforcement administrators gave away what little remained of their control of their agencies to the feds in exchange for the funds that tight fisted local politicos had, through the years, consistently and steadfastly refused to adequately provide.
(NC) Sheriff: Gun permit applicants required to release mental health records
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office says it will start requiring mental health background checks for anyone applying to buy a handgun.
The application already asks whether the person seeking the handgun permit has ever been committed to a mental institution. But until now, the Sheriff’s Office had never verified the answer.
Beginning Monday, handgun permit applicants will have to give permission for the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court to release mental health records to the Sheriff’s Office.
Open letter to Chief James Johnson Baltimore County Maryland PD
Chief,
I was down at the station working out this morning, running on the tread mill. While I was running I was watching you testifying to the committee regarding gun control. I got so angry I decided to write you a letter. Since I couldn’t find an e-mail address for you I decided to vent a little frustration here in hopes my thoughts will be viewed by someone who can forward them to you.
As I watched your admiring glances and fawning praise of Sen. Feinstein, I couldn’t help but immediately notice how much you two resemble one another. If you were to put on a wig, some glasses and lipstick you could pass for her twin. Uncanny.
Anyway,
Will Our Rights Be Preserved by Our Sheriffs?
Will Our Rights Be Preserved by Our Sheriffs?
American Thinker ^ | 1/29/2013 | Russ Vaughn
Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 8:44:18 AM by sheikdetailfeather
The Land of Enchantment is a physically beautiful land indeed, yet one with the misfortune to be so traditionally misgoverned by our liberal Democrat majority as to be relegated too frequently to the very lowest rankings of the states when it comes to poverty, education, health, etc.
Once in a while, however, we do find something besides our majestic landscapes to be proud of. A statement just issued by the New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association and signed by 29 of 33 county sheriffs, declaring that their oaths of office don’t require them to enforce federal laws they consider unconstitutional, provides New Mexicans with just such a moment. While I’ve read and heard similar statements from individual sheriffs and police chiefs in other states, I’ve not seen anything comparable from a statewide law enforcement association.
Effort to abolish local sheriffs a stealth federal power grab?
CAUTION!
THIS IS THE AKA DEAD END ZONE !!!!!
*****
A news report has been quietly making its way around the alternative media, under the radar screen, concerning a Delaware legal decision to strip county sheriffs of their arrest powers in the state.
The mainstream media has not reported the story, but the son of Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as Attorney General for the state of Delaware, has issued a mandate to county commissioners informing them that sheriffs in the state’s three counties no longer have arrest powers.
When the information reached this reporter late yesterday evening, further investigation revealed that there is a nationwide effort to strip local sheriffs of most of their enumerated powers that are mandated in the state constitutions of the various states. Such a move would have the net effect of abolishing local sheriffs departments and strengthening the power of federal law enforcement agencies.
Charleston Voice: Effort to abolish local sheriffs a stealth federal power grab?
Posted by Charleston Voice
“…The mainstream media has not reported the story, but the son of Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as Attorney General for the state of Delaware, has issued a mandate to county commissioners informing them that sheriffs in the state’s three counties no longer have arrest powers.”
Read also: Gun Owners Refuse to Register Under New York Law…“They’re saying, ‘F— the governor! F— Cuomo! We’re not going to register our guns,’
Federal Power Grab
April 10, 2012
By: Anthony Martin
Janet Napolitano‘s Department of Homeland Security is supplying its federal law enforcement division with 500 million rounds of hollow point bullets.
Janet Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security is supplying its federal law enforcement division with 500 million rounds of hollow point bullets.
Homeland Security hoarding ammo, depriving police
Cops scramble for bullets while DHS stockpiles 1.2 billion rounds
Will the U.S. soon face a critical situation in which the federal government– primarily the Department of Homeland Security – possesses an ammunition surplus while local and state authorities face ammunition shortages and backlogs in purchasing more rounds?
Current trends could find the federal government with a strong ammunition advantage over local police and sheriff departments.
Put Not Your Trust in Federalized Sheriffs by William Norman Grigg
You look depressed.”
“I was lamenting. I’ve lost my innocence.”
“You lost that some time ago. If you’ve only just noticed, it can’t have been very important to you.”
Exchange between Thomas Cromwell – the Machiavellian Lord Chancellor of England – and Richard Rich, an ambitious functionary who had sold his soul in a buyer’s market, from A Man for All Seasons.
“I will not enforce an unconstitutional law against any citizen of Smith County,” insisted Sheriff Larry Smith. The sheriff wants his constituents to believe that he would refuse to participate in a federally mandated gun grab, or permit one to be carried out by federal officials within his jurisdiction. Yet ten days before Smith offered that assurance, his office had taken part in an early-morning SWAT rampage throughout East Texas in which 73 warrants were served as part of the federal government’s patently unconstitutional war on drugs.
During a December 2011 campaign debate, Smith said that he wanted to “invest more resources” – that is, redirect wealth plundered from the productive – into a “Drug Task Force,” and insisted that under his administration the Sheriff’s Office would embrace a “Task Force mentality” in dealing with law enforcement issues.
Sheriffs called out to fight the law (resisting gun confiscation)
Sheriffs called out to fight the law (resisting gun confiscation)
WND ^ | 1/2/2013 | Michael Carl
Posted on Wednesday, January 02, 2013 8:19:46 AM by RoosterRedux
A high-profile former sheriff who once sued the U.S. government over its gun regulations – and won – says it’s the local sheriff who will have to defend Americans when and if the feds start banning and confiscating guns.
Richard Mack, a former sheriff in Graham County, Ariz., joined with then-Ravalli County Sheriff Jay Printz in a lawsuit against Washington when Bill Clinton demanded sheriffs enforce provisions of the Brady Bill gun-control law.
He won. And since then he’s been at the front of a movement that highlights the responsibility of local sheriffs.
The Duly Elected Sheriff Of A County Is The Highest Law Enforcement Official Within A County. He has law enforcement powers that exceed that of any other state or federal official.- Totally Off Topic - Ex-Christian.Net
Reblogged from NOW BLOG THIS! ~ GUNNY.G: AMERICAN !:
The duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county. He has law enforcement powers that exceed that of any other state or federal official.
This is settled law that most people are not aware of.
The Sacred Cause of ‘Officer Safety’ by William Norman Grigg
|
Liberty Knows No Compromise
The Sacred Cause of ‘Officer Safety’Recently by William Norman Grigg: How To Kill a Law Enforcement Career: The Case of Regina Tasca
“It’s just about being safe.”
Thus spoke Deputy Corry Bassett of the Lincoln County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office as he struggled to justify handcuffing Robert Pierson during an August 11, 2011 traffic stop.
Pierson, a Marine combat veteran, had been riding his motorcycle near Alpine when another motorist called to complain about a biker passing a number of slow-moving motor homes. Pierson was not charged with a traffic violation or a criminal offense — but he was arrested and detained in handcuffs for 45 minutes because the sight of a Mundane carrying a firearm caused Bassett to irrigate his underwear.
“I know you have a gun,” Bassett said a few seconds into the stop, which was recorded on Pierson’s cell phone. “Are you a cop?”
|
Navy vet shot by deputy in own backyard—family seeks answers
The brother of a Navy veteran shot by a deputy in her own backyard wants the sheriff’s department to admit its mistake and take responsibility for the incident.
Jennifer Orey, 36, was shot Sunday in a surprise encounter with two sheriff’s deputies who were searching for a man reportedly in the area wearing a ski mask, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Orey was in her pajamas in her yard around 10:30 p.m. because she heard noises and thought it was her ex-husband, the newspaper reports.
Air marshal took Zimmerman in when the going got rough
Air marshal took Zimmerman in when the going got rough
Miami Herald ^ | 7/13/12 | Frances Robles
Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 3:52:30 PM by Jaded
In the height of the national outrage over the shooting of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman hid out for over a month in nearby Lake Mary at the home of a federal law-enforcement agent — a former Seminole County Sheriff deputy who was pressured to quit after he was duped by a con artist and violated department policy. He was the friend who taught Zimmerman how to shoot, and whose wife presided over Zimmerman’s wedding. As lesser acquaintances granted television interview after television interview, Mark Osterman never showed his face even as he offered shelter to a friend in need who at one point was one of the most controversial people in America.
(GyG Reader Comment) A Lawyer Who Almost Became West Virginia’s Top Attorney Is In Jail For Shooting A Guy In The Leg
(“As most of you know, my family was swatted on May 27, 2012. The police, at the time, told me they were responding to a 911 call about an accidental shooting.”) The 911 Call and 80+ Members of Congress
As most of you know, my family was swatted on May 27, 2012.
The police, at the time, told me they were responding to a 911 call about an accidental shooting.
I now have the 911 call. It turns out that the call was not about an accidental shooting. The caller said I had shot my wife, she was dead on the floor in front of me, and I was going off to shoot someone else.
The Rape of Delaware County, Oklahoma by William Norman Grigg
In Oklahoma’s Delaware County, Sheriff’s deputies were too busy figuratively raping motorists in the village of Bernice to supervise guards who were literally raping inmates in the county jail. As a result, the County Commission has put the screws to the entire county in the form of an 18 percent sales tax increase in order to pay the victims a $13.5 million settlement.
Looks like Florida has a sheriff like Arizona has
Polk County Florida Sheriff – “You kill a policeman it means no arrest…no Miranda rights…no negotiations…nothing but as many bullets as we can shoot into you…PERIOD.”
POLK COUNTY FLORIDA SHERIFF, GRADY JUDD
An illegal alien, in Polk County , Florida , who got pulled over in a routine traffic stop, ended up “executing” the deputy who stopped him. The deputy was shot eight times, including once behind his right ear at close range. Another deputy was wounded and a police dog killed. A state-wide manhunt ensued.
The murderer was found hiding in a wooded area. As soon as he took a shot at the SWAT team, officers opened fire on him. They hit the guy 68 times.
Naturally, the liberal media went nuts and asked why they had to shoot the poor, undocumented immigrant 68 times.
THE SHERIFF: A NECESSARY OFFICE
The county sheriff is being introduced to a maneuver that will gradually eliminate him by a merger with federal marshals. Already under threat by an Advisory group,[1] the traditional American constitutional sheriff will be divested of his authority. He will lose his control over the jails and the courts, and all civilian law enforcement will be consolidated on the federal regional government level.
(“And in 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was set to eliminate all of the 48 states in order to implement nine regional governments that would operate as extensions of the federal government”) There is an effort afoot to abolish the power of the County Sheriff .. by Anthony Martin. | Save America Foundation
A news report has been quietly making its way around the alternative media, under the radar screen, concerning a Delaware legal decision to strip county sheriffs of their arrest powers in the state.
The mainstream media has not reported the story, but the son of Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as Attorney General for the state of Delaware, has issued a mandate to county commissioners informing them that sheriffs in the state’s three counties no longer have arrest powers.
When the information reached this reporter late yesterday evening, further investigation revealed that there is a nationwide effort to strip local sheriffs of most of their enumerated powers that are mandated in the state constitutions of the various states. Such a move would have the net effect of abolishing local sheriffs departments and strengthening the power of federal law enforcement agencies.
And this is not the first time such an effort has been launched.
In the 1970s an initiative was launched by county supervisors in California to eliminate the office of sheriff, but one supervisor instead was able to persuade two state legislators to get a question placed on the California ballot as to whether or not the office of the sheriff should be an elected office. The measure passed overwhelmingly, and the mandate for elected sheriffs was placed in the state constitution.
ARPAIO TO DOJ: “I WILL NOT SURRENDER MY OFFICE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT”
DOJ TO SHERIFF ARPAIO: “MONITOR ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY”
ARPAIO TO DOJ: “I WILL NOT SURRENDER MY OFFICE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT”
AZ A series of meetings between representatives for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the U.S. Department of Justice were slated to begin tomorrow to discuss ways to resolve allegations of racial profiling by Sheriff’s employees.But hours before the first meeting, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division called Arpaio’s attorneys with an ultimatum. Austin stated that it was absolutely mandatory for the Sheriff’s Office to agree to have an outside monitor otherwise there is no reason for further meetings.Appointment of an outside monitor essentially usurps the powers and duties of an elected Sheriff and transfers them to a person or group of persons selected by the federal government.
Every policy decision, every operation, every new program in the jails and in enforcement, virtually everything would have to be approved by the monitor, nullifying the authority of the elected Sheriff and eviscerating the will of the citizens of Maricopa County.
The Battle of Athens
2 AUGUST 1946
I. Introduction
On 2 August 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force to overturn it. These Americans wanted honest, open elections. For years they had asked for state or Federal election monitors to prevent vote fraud — forged ballots, secret ballot counts, and intimidation by armed sheriff’s deputies — by the local political boss. They got no help.
These Americans’ absolute refusal to knuckle-under had been hardened by service in World War II. Having fought to free other countries from murderous regimes, they rejected vicious abuse by their county government. These Americans had a choice. Their state’s Constitution – Article 1, Section 26 – recorded their right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. Few “gun control” laws had been enacted.
II. The Setting
FBI Seizes Computers of Portland Blogger For Allegedly Posting Sheriff Death Threat
FBI Seizes Computers of Portland Blogger For Allegedly Posting Sheriff Death Threat
Forum.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com ^ | February 23, 2012 | n/a
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2012 6:22:45 AM by Cindy
“FBI Seizes Computers of Portland Blogger For Allegedly Posting Sheriff Death Threat”
Jim R. Schwiesow — Eight Lonely Souls
Recently eight duly elected and active Oregon and California county sheriffs’ addressed, in a public forum, federal and state intrusions upon the unalienable rights of their citizens and the unconstitutional (illegal) incursions of warrantless state and federal endeavors in their jurisdictions. By their testimony these fine sheriffs’ verbally documented the assault on sovereignty and the abridgement of individual rights by the despotic strives that they have personally witnessed.
Most disturbing was the fact that federal encroachments were aided and abetted by state politicians who were willing to bargain away state sovereignty and the exclusive right to local control in exchange for federal dollars; a disturbing development given that states ought to employ a barrier against unconstitutional federal trespass upon the personal liberties of their people.
If you became aware of this event, via the mass media, friendly reader you were indeed a rare exception as the particulars of the forum had all of the earmarks of being a closely guarded secret by a media that totally eschews any moral obligation to apprise the public of other than sensationally motivated, politically correct, or politically actuated and patronage-directed substance.
WHEN I’M ELECTED SHERIFF…By: Dr. Jimmy T. (Gunny) LaBaume
As you may have heard, we had a massive “round up” by Federal, State and Local Jack Booted Government Thugs in Alpine yesterday. Some two dozen people were arrested based on a “secret” grand jury indictment for various “victimless crimes” (which are not crimes at all) in which no body’s person or property had been damaged or harmed in any way.
Bus Confrontation Caught on VIDEO in Bellflower-(Deputies threaten man who took video)
Bus Confrontation Caught on VIDEO in Bellflower-(Deputies threaten man who took video)
nbclosangeles.com ^ | 1/11/2012 | Kim Baldonado
Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:59:46 PM by dragnet2
When Jermaine Green and his fiancee Violet Roberts got on a Metro bus in Bellflower Monday night, they took notice of another passenger.
“The lady got on the bus with a stroller full of pillows, she was very polite, said hello to everyone and sat down,” Green said.
At the next stop, two LA County sheriff‘s deputies, one male and one female, boarded the bus and called the passenger by name.
“They said get off the bus. She then started cursing at (the female deputy). You could tell she had special needs. After that they grab her, she curses him out, calls him a big shot, next thing you know he gives her a big shot,” Green said.
Green captured the incident with his cell phone‘s video camera.
“It was like they were tired of dealing with her so they didn’t try to talk to her or anything,” Roberts said.
Wake deputy kills dog while searching for runaway teen (another ‘isolated incident’)
Wake deputy kills dog while searching for runaway teen (another ‘isolated incident’)
WRAL (Raleigh-Durham) ^ | December 29, 2011 | Beau Minnick
Posted on Friday, December 30, 2011 11:26:28 AM by bamahead
A Wake County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a couple’s 3-year-old dog Wednesday night while searching for a runaway teenager.
John and Linda Super say two deputies came to their home on King Circle, looking for a 15-year-old neighbor who had run away and had often spent time with them.
One of the couple’s dogs, Elvis, forced his way out the front door and ran outside as the couple talked to the deputies, they said. One of the deputies shot Elvis twice, including once in the back of the head, killing him, according to the Supers.
“All we’ve got is a dead dog and a lot of questions that need answers,” Linda Super said. “(Elvis) came running out, never bothered a soul, never opened his mouth, never woofed or nothing when he came out the door.”
Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said the deputy, Roderick Belfield, said the dog was barking and running towards him. Belfield will not be punished for shooting the dog.
50 ICE agents to screen jail inmates [To replace Arpaio deputies]
50 ICE agents to screen jail inmates [To replace Arpaio deputies]
Posted on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 2:38:27 PM by SandRat
PHOENIX – The Homeland Security Department will use 50 immigration agents to screen jail inmates in Arizona‘s most populous county after it revoked the sheriff‘s authority to access its systems, the agency said Monday in a letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl.
MD: Man Charged After Fake Grenade Found In Apartment(MD)
MD: Man Charged After Fake Grenade Found In Apartment(MD)
wbaltv.com ^ | 14 December, 2011 | NA
Posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 8:15:34 AM by marktwain
CASCADE, Md. — Maryland fire investigators said a Washington County man was charged after a fake hand grenade was found in his apartment.
The Maryland fire marshal‘s office said 58-year-old Philip Charles Taylor was charged Tuesday with manufacture of a phony destructive device and possession of a phony destructive device. Officials said a county sheriff’s deputy and the owner of the apartment on MacAfee Hill Road found the object while serving an eviction notice.
Bomb technicians and state investigators were called to the scene and determined the object was a non-explosive device.
The fire marshal’s office said Taylor was later arrested on the 13000 block of Ritchie Road.
Local sheriff defends farmer from FDA intrusion
Brad Rogers, Sheriff of Elkhart County, Indiana, is withstanding FDA bureaucrats who are harassing citizens in his county. The Complete Patient reports,
The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn its subpoena of Indiana raw dairy farmer Richard Hochstetler to appear before a federal grand jury.
He was scheduled to testify tomorrow in Detroit, in connection with an outbreak of illnesses linked by public health officials, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to the milk of his Forest Grove Dairy. But yesterday he received a certified letter saying that his subpoena was being withdrawn.
The withdrawal came after Roger’s Sheriff’s Department told the FDA to back off:
SWAT team’s shooting of Marine causes outrage [Jose Guerena Ortiz]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Jose Guerena Ortiz was sleeping after an exhausting 12-hour night shift at a copper mine. His wife, Vanessa, had begun breakfast. Their 4-year-old son, Joel, asked to watch cartoons.
An ordinary morning was unfolding in the middle-class Tucson neighborhood — until an armored vehicle pulled into the family’s driveway and men wearing heavy body armor and helmets climbed out, weapons ready.
They were a sheriff’s department SWAT team who had come to execute a search warrant. But Vanessa Guerena insisted she had no idea, when she heard a “boom” and saw a dark-suited man pass by a window, that it was police outside her home. She shook her husband awake and told him someone was firing a gun outside.
















The duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county. He has law enforcement powers that exceed that of any other state or federal official.
This is settled law that most people are not aware of.




















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