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sheriff |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.06 sec. |
sheriffIn the U.S., the chief law-enforcement officer for the courts in a county. He is ordinarily elected, and he may appoint a deputy. The sheriff and his deputy have the power of police officers to enforce criminal law and may summon private citizens (the posse comitatus, or “force of the county”) to help maintain the peace. The main judicial duty of the sheriff is to execute processes and writs of the courts. Officers of this name also exist in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In England the office of sheriff existed before the Norman Conquest (1066). How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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After the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror, each county (or shire) had a shire reeve (from which sheriff is derived) who was responsible for calling together a posse of citizens whenever the need arose to apprehend a suspected criminal who was believed to be likely to try to flee the area. |
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Shire reeve
