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Originally named SHIRE-REEVE, also called i-iiG SIIERWF, a senior executive officer in an English county or smaller area who performs a variety of administrative and judicial functions. Officers of this name also exist in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the United States.
In England, the office of sheriff existed before the Norman Conquest (1066). The separation of the ecclesiastical from the secular courts under William I the Conqueror left the sheriff supreme in the county and as president of its court. He convened and led military forces of the shire, executed all writs, and, for the first century after the Conquest, judged both criminal and civil cases. But from the time of Henry II (1133—89), his jurisdiction was severely restricted as a result of the growing jurisdiction of the curia regis (“king’s court”). Henceforth, his duty was to investigate allegations of crime from within his shire, to conduct a preliminary examination of the accused, to try lesser offenses, and to detain those accused of major crimes for the itinerant justices.
The new offices of coroner (first mentioned in 1194), of local constable (first mentioned in
1242), and of justices of the peace (first known in the 12th century as custodes pacis, “keepers of the peace”) all took work and duties from the sheriffs. After the Tudor reorganization of local government in the 15th and 16th centuries, the office was largely ceremonial. English law was consolidated in the Sheriffs Act of 1877, however, under which sheriffs in all parts of England were assigned a unified set of duties. Sheriffs now attend on the judges at as- sizes and at election petitions and are responsible for the execution of writs; they prepare the panel of jurors for assizes, are liable for the safe custody of prisoners, and act as returning officer at parliamentary elections. Until the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act of 1965, sheriffs were also responsible for the execution of sentences of death.
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In Scotland, the sheriff, as a ministerial and judiqial officer, appears in records from the 12th century, and, despite the later introduction of the office of justice of the peace, the sheriff has retained considerable powers. Sheriffs and sheriff substitutes for the 15 sheriffdoms are appointed and removed by the crown on recommendation of the secretary of state for Scotland. The original jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court is exercised largely by sheriff substitutes. In certain civil matters, appeal lies to the sheriff and through him to the Court of Session. The civil jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court extends to nearly all actions. Only grave crimes are excepted from the criminal jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court, these being tried by the High Court of Justice. In Northern Ireland, the sheriff and salaried undersheriff for a county are appointed by the governor, and their duties, similar to those in England, are set in the Sheriffs (Ireland) Act of 1920.
In the U.S., the sheriff is ordinarily an elected public officer in his county, the chief executive officer, and an officer of the court, with a term usually of from two to four years. The deputy is appointed by the sheriff and is delegated duties. The sheriff and deputy are peaceofficers and thus have the power of police officers in the enforcement of criminal law. They may also assume some of the functions of the local police department and are empowered to call out the posse comitatus (“the power of a county,” a summoning of private citizens to assist in maintaining peace). The sheriff’s main judicial duties are the service and return of process and the execution of writs, particularly judgments by sale or distress. Although the sheriff is usually a salaried official, he is sometimes paid from fees, which, in populous counties, can be lucrative.
