County sheriff

The office of county sheriff is established by Article VII of the Tennessee Constitution.

Constitutional Text

Article VII of the Tennessee State Constitution states:

ARTICLE VII.

State and County Officers.

Section 1. The qualified voters of each county shall elect for terms of four years a legislative body, a county executive, a sheriff, a trustee, a register, a county clerk and an assessor of property. Their qualifications and duties shall be prescribed by the General Assembly. Any officer shall be removed from malfeasance or neglect of duty as prescribed by the General Assembly. The legislative body shall be composed of representatives from districts in the county as drawn by the county legislative body pursuant to statutes enacted by the General Assembly. Districts shall be reapportioned at least every ten years based upon the most recent federal census. The legislative body shall not exceed twenty-five members, and no more than three representatives shall be elected from a district. Any county organized under the consolidated government provisions of Article XI, Section 9, of this Constitution shall be exempt from having a county executive and a county legislative body as described in this paragraph. The General Assembly may provide alternate forms of county government including the right to charter and the manner by which a referendum may be called. The new form of government shall replace the existing form if approved by a majority of the voters in the referendum. No officeholder's current term shall be diminished by the ratification of this article.

Section 2. Vacancies in county offices shall be filled by the county legislative body, and any person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next election occurring after the vacancy is qualified.

Section 3. There shall be a treasurer or treasurers and a comptroller of the treasury appointed for the state, by the joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly who shall hold their offices for two years.

Section 4. The election of officers, and the filling of all vacancies not otherwise directed or provided by this Constitution, shall be made in such manner as the Legislature shall direct.

Section 5. Elections for judicial and other civil officers shall be held on the first Thursday in August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and forever thereafter on the first Thursday in August next preceding the expiration of their respective terms of service. The term of each officer so elected shall be computed from the first day of September next succeeding his election. The term of office of the governor and other executive officers shall be computed from the fifteenth of January next after the election of the governor. No appointment or election to fill a vacancy shall be made for a period extending beyond the unexpired term. Every officer shall hold his office until his successor is elected or appointed, and qualified. No special election shall be held to fill a vacancy in the office of judge or district attorney, but at the time herein fixed for the biennial election of civil officers, and such vacancy shall be filled at the next biennial election recurring more than thirty days after the vacancy occurs.

Public Acts

The statutory powers and qualifications of the county sheriff are spelled out in the Tennessee Code, especially in Title 8, Chapter 8 (although other parts of the code do touch upon the sheriff's duties).

Qualifications

Tenn. Code § 8-8-102 sets forth the qualifications required for sheriffs. These include:

• Being a United States citizen.
• Being over the age of 25.
• Being a resident and qualified voter in the county for at least a year.
• Having a high school diploma.
• Not having been convicted of certain crimes, including domestic violence misdemeanors or felonies involving "force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, liquor or controlled substances."
• Not having been dishonorably discharged from the military.
• Having passed a psychiatric evaluation; and
• Having three years of law-enforcement experience (requires Peace Officer Standards & Training certification).

Tenn. Code § 8-8-101 also specifically bars county sheriffs from practicing law or holding a seat in the state legislature.

Duties and Powers

Tenn. Code § 8-8-201 states 36 specific duties of the county sheriff and makes references to many others included in the code. These duties include:

• Serving and executing process and other legal notices (§ 8-8-201(a)(1) etc.).
• Keeping order at the county courthouse (§ 8-8-201(a)(2)).
• Supervising and operating the county jail (§ 8-8-201(a)(3)).
• Executing court judgments and conducting sheriff's sales (§ 8-8-201(a)(13) etc.).

Tenn. Code § 8-8-213 states that "the sheriff and the sheriff's deputies are conservators of the peace, and it is the sheriff's duty to suppress all affrays, riots, routs, unlawful assemblies, insurrections, or other breaches of the peace, detect and prevent crime, arrest any person lawfully, execute process of law, and patrol the roads of the county."

Tenn. Code § 8-8-213(b) states that the sheriff may appoint deputies or summon a posse to enforce the law. Sheriffs may appoint deputies if authorized to do so by the judge of the circuit court (Tenn. Code § 8-20-101).

Private Acts

In addition to the public laws which apply to all counties, the Tennessee General Assembly may pass private acts from time to time regarding specific counties. Some of these are no longer operable; for example, the General Assembly passed a private act in 1809 authorizing the Maury County sheriff to build a jail. Perhaps the most important private acts still in effect in Maury County are ones related to the Sheriff Office's civil service board.

External Links

• Tennessee Sheriffs' Association website