Opinion ID: 76238
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Law Enforcement

Text: 34 In Georgia, the office of sheriff is as old as the State of Georgia itself and carries with it the common law duties of sheriffs to enforce the laws and preserve the peace on behalf of the sovereign State, as well as other specific statutory duties imposed by the State legislature. O.C.G.A. § 15-16-10(a)(1)-(8); Hannah v. State, 212 Ga. 313, 92 S.E.2d 89 (1956) (The office of sheriff carries with it ... all of its common-law duties and powers, except as modified by statute.) (citation and quotation marks omitted). 15 Given the sheriff's continuing common law duties, the State legislature mandates that it is the express duty of the sheriff to perform not only such ... duties as are or may be imposed by law, but also those duties which necessarily appertain to his or her office. O.C.G.A. § 15-16-10(a)(8). 35 Georgia's Constitution also provides that [t]he Governor shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed and shall be the conservator of the peace throughout the state. Ga. Const. art. V, § 2, ¶ 2. In enforcing the laws and conserving the peace, the Georgia Governor does not act alone, but necessarily acts through state agents, which include sheriffs for certain state functions. 16 The United States Supreme Court recently acknowledged that sheriffs historically had geographic restrictions but in reality represented the State in fulfilling [their] duty to keep the peace. McMillian v. Monroe County, 520 U.S. 781, 793, 117 S.Ct. 1734, 138 L.Ed.2d 1 (1997) (concluding that Alabama sheriffs act for the state as to the law enforcement function in issue). The Supreme Court reflected on the longstanding historical role of sheriffs, as follows: 36 As the basic forms of English government were transplanted in [the United States], it also became the common understanding here that the sheriff, though limited in jurisdiction to his county and generally elected by county voters, was in reality an officer of the State, and ultimately represented the State in fulfilling his duty to keep the peace. 37 Id. at 794, 117 S.Ct. 1734 (internal footnote omitted). Indeed, in conserving the public peace, in vindicating the law, and in preserving the rights of the government, [the sheriff] represents the sovereignty of the State and he has no superior in his county. 1 W. Anderson, A Treatise on the Law of Sheriffs, Coroners and Constables 5 (1941), cited with approval in McMillian, 520 U.S. at 794, 117 S.Ct. 1734. 38 As we already have noted, sheriffs in Georgia derive their power and duties from the State, are controlled by the State, and counties cannot, and do not, delegate any law enforcement power or duties to sheriffs. 17 In Georgia, this historical role of the sheriff thus continues to this day as the sheriff directly represents the sovereignty of the State, has no superior in his county, and performs state functions for the sovereign in enforcing the laws and keeping the peace. 39 It is also entirely consistent for Georgia sheriffs to be elected by county voters and be called county officers to reflect their geographic jurisdiction, but for them still to act on behalf of the State in enforcing the laws and keeping the peace in that jurisdiction. See R. Cooley, Handbook on the Law of Municipal Corporations 512 (1914) (Sheriffs ... clerks and other so-called county officers are properly state officers for the county. Their functions and duties pertain chiefly to the affairs of state in the county.). 18