As we draw near to the September 9th GOP primary for the office of Sussex County Sheriff, this is a question the supporters of Jeff Christopher should be asking themselves. Now, to answer the question, of whether or not Jeff Christopher is derelict in his duty, will depend on what you feel his duties are.
For some those duties have been redefined by the General Assembly, and confirmed by two Delaware courts. According to these two branches of our state government, the office of the sheriff does not include the powers of arrest, nor has it been designated as the guardian of the people against tyranny. These people are satisfied to have the office of the sheriff work within these newly defined parameters, and consider the issue of arrest powers as a settled issue.
However I am not directing this post to those people, since they have most likely made up their minds to vote for Robert Lee, who has stated that he is willing to work for the people of Sussex within the newly defined role as it currently stands, and would not, like Jeff Christopher, cost the tax payer more money defending against law suits.
No, in this post, I am talking directly to the people who support Jeff Christopher, and his stated view of what it means to be the sheriff in Sussex County, and Delaware. I say stated view for a reason, which will become clearer as I continue.
But what are those stated views of what the sheriff should be, according to Jeff Christopher? Well let us look to Mr. Christopher’s own words within the law suit he filed against Sussex County, and later against the state of Delaware.
“WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Jeffery S. Christopher hereby respectfully request that this Court enter judgment in his favor and against the defendants, as follows:
1. Issues a declaratory judgment declaring that Plaintiff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Sussex County and has full authority under the Delaware Constitution to exercise within Sussex County all the common law powers, duties, and responsibilities attendant upon his Office, as conservator of the peace, without direction, restriction, or interference of any kind from any other government official or entity within the state of Delaware, such duties to include:
a) maintaining and protecting the safety of persons and property;
b) suppressing all acts of violence and enforcing all laws of the state of Delaware;
c) detaining and arresting on view anyone who breaks the peace;
d) detaining and arresting without warrant anyone who has committed any crime or
misdemeanor; and anyone against whom there are reasonable grounds of suspicion of
having committed a felony;
e) exercising exclusive control and authority over Sussex County Chief Deputy Sheriff and
Deputy Sheriffs;
f) receiving sufficient and adequate financial appropriations; and
g) exercising all the powers, rights, and duties incidental to Plaintiff’s authority, including:
i. complete and unrestricted access to the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System
(DEIJIS) and the LEISS warrant application ;
ii. emergency lights and appropriate signage on vehicles used by the Office of the Sheriff;
iii. professional training for Office of the Sheriff personnel;
iv. posse comitatus;
v. conducting traffic stops;
vi. transporting prisoners, mental patients, and PFA individuals; and
vii. providing security or crowd control at any event,
2. Issue a declaratory judgment declaring that Plaintiff’s authority under the Delaware Constitution shall not be abrogated or diminished in any way by any government official, branch of government, or other entity within the State of Delaware absent constitutional amendment,
3. Enter a judgment against Defendant Sussex County for Plaintiff’s cost and attorney’s fees under 10 Del C. 6510.
4. Grant such other and further relief as is just and proper.
As you can see from the language of this suit, Jeff Christopher believes that the office of the sheriff is, and should be autonomous, just look at this statement, “ without direction, restriction, or interference of any kind from any other government official or entity within the state of Delaware,”. Where are the checks and balance that is the hallmark of our Representative Republic? At every level of government in this great land, there has been instituted since its founding, a system of checks and balance so as not to instill any one branch or office with unlimited powers and authorities. We can only assume from this law suit that Jeff Christopher does not hold to the concept that the Founding Fathers saw fit to conceive.
Mr. Christopher has on many occasions stated that he does not want to create a “county police force”, I myself have heard him say this, however one has to question whether or not Mr. Christopher is merely parsing words here.
Again, let us look to the language of Mr. Christopher’s law suit,
“ a) maintaining and protecting the safety of persons and property;
b) suppressing all acts of violence and enforcing all laws of the state of Delaware;
c) detaining and arresting on view anyone who breaks the peace;
d) detaining and arresting without warrant anyone who has committed any crime or
misdemeanor; and anyone against whom there are reasonable grounds of suspicion of
having committed a felony;
e) exercising exclusive control and authority over Sussex County Chief Deputy Sheriff and
Deputy Sheriffs;
f) receiving sufficient and adequate financial appropriations; and
g) exercising all the powers, rights, and duties incidental to Plaintiff’s authority, including:
i. complete and unrestricted access to the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System
(DEIJIS) and the LEISS warrant application ;
ii. emergency lights and appropriate signage on vehicles used by the Office of the Sheriff;
iii. professional training for Office of the Sheriff personnel;
iv. posse comitatus;
v. conducting traffic stops;
vi. transporting prisoners, mental patients, and PFA individuals; and
vii. providing security or crowd control at any event,”
Do these not sound like the powers and authorities of a police force? Okay, I will concede that Mr. Christopher does not want to create a county-wide “police force”, but what he does want to create, is a county-wide agency with police powers.
He wants to arrest people, he wants lights on the cars, (oh God really, again with the lights), he wants to do traffic stops, he wants to create a posse for heaven’s sake. You tell me, is that a police force or not?
When asked how will the county pay for all of this increased action from the sheriff’s office, Mr. Christopher will tell you that it will not cost the tax payers “a single dime more”, (his words not mine). He will also begin to brag about the projected $12 million he expects the Office of the Sheriff to bring in this year alone. I am waiting for someone to ask him where that money comes from that he is so proud of collecting in this down economy. I know where, it comes from the foreclosures and sheriff’s sales, it comes from people losing their homes and property, and here we have Jeff Christopher crowing about it like it is good news for the county.
Now that we can see from Jeff Christopher’s law suit exactly what he sees as the powers, authorities, and responsibilities of the office, let us return to my original question, is Sheriff Jeff Christopher derelict in his duties?
Jeff Christopher will and has talked for hours upon hours about how he feels that the simple term of “conservator of the peace” within the Delaware constitution is all the authority and definition of the office of the sheriff that is needed, and that any restriction placed upon him to exercise those undefined powers and authority is unconstitutional.
Jeff Christopher has convinced his supporters that he, as the sheriff of Sussex County, can and will be their defender against both the state and federal governments should either attempt to infringe upon their constitutional rights, that he as sheriff is their final buttress against tyranny.
Mr. Christopher and his supporters have called HB325 unconstitutional, this was the legislation that stripped the sheriff of arrest powers completely. Mr. Christopher and his supporters have stated time and again about how the courts that handed down the decision in his law suit were corrupted, and how the state of Delaware is becoming a “police state”. They will tell you that the federal government is on the verge of taking away our 2nd Amendment rights at any minute. Mr. Christopher has gone so far as to call Delaware a “God forsaken place”.
So I ask the supporters of Jeff Christopher, what has he really done in the role of sheriff as he, and you see it?
If you believe that the term COP within the Delaware Constitution is all the authority that is needed for Jeff Christopher to exercise the powers and authority that he listed in his law suit, then why doesn’t he exercise them?
If HB 325 is unconstitutional, then why doesn’t Jeff Christopher arrest Pete Schwartzkopf the sponsor of the bill? Or better yet, why doesn’t he arrest every legislator who voted for it? Or the Governor who signed it? How is Jeff Christopher going to protect your rights, if he is unwilling to even fight for the rights he believes are empowered to his office?
If he truly believes that he has the authority to arrest people he sees committing crime, even traffic offences, then why hasn’t he arrested or stopped a single person? Are you telling me that he and his deputies don’t see people everyday speeding and driving recklessly?
Why is Jeff Christopher waiting for a government, he and his supporters believe to be corrupt, to confirm that which he says, is already within the scope of his office based on the term COP within the state constitution?
Jeff Christopher and his supporters often talk of interposition, this means that the sheriff has the right to impose himself as sheriff in a position to stop state and federal agencies from infringing on our rights. But has he? To do so, to demonstrate he has the authority, all he need do, is pull over and site one speeder, or one person who runs a stop sign. But he won’t, because he knows when he goes to court the result will be the same as his law suit, he will be told he did not have the authority to do so, and will face charges. And he my friends, will not put his own personal well-being on the line for you or me, that is evident in the fact that he hasn’t up until now.
I challenge all of Mr. Christopher’s supporters to ask yourself, is Jeff Christopher derelict in his duties, has he exercised a single one of the powers he states he has, based on the state constitution, that he convinced you that he has. He has talked about it for four years, but has he just once put his own self on the line to protect the office of the sheriff, or the rights of the people? I know it would be hard for any of you to admit it publicly, but when you are in the voting booth with only your conscience, it will be time for you to realize that Jeff Christopher has used the office of the sheriff for his own gain, and has used the people who support him for his own agenda, and has not once upheld the principles he claims to hold to.
nice piece of work. this guy is tilting at windmills. the office is essentially irrelevant. it would be nice to see him lose, but then what would we talk about?
Does Frank Knotts Have a brain?
You write a 2000 word rambling post and expect that people will read the same old dribble, and you continue to assault the intelligence of your 10 readers and still expect us to think you are competent.
Slash and burn posts are not being read. I only read two paragraphs of this piece of garbage.
Thanks for this very asute analysis. Sheriff Christopher fosters delusions about the office he holds. Unfortunately some voters are attracted to comforting, but false images, away from the realities. Elections are all about removing those in office who use an office to serve themselves, not the public. Your essay reveals how this sheriff keeps constructing in campaign rhetoric a position that does not, and cannot, exist. It’s a Pied Piper, “one that offers strong but delusive enticement”.
Jeff Christopher is a pusse’. All talk and no action.
As you can see from the language of this suit, Jeff Christopher believes that the office of the sheriff is, and should be autonomous…
As did the framers of the Delaware Constitution;
§ 1. Conservators of the peace.
Section 1. The Chancellor, Judges and Attorney-General shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State; and the Sheriffs shall be conservators of the peace within the counties respectively in which they reside.
Obviously, the intention was to give the counties autonomy.
The state police fall within the purview of the AG, who is a “conservator of the peace.” But in the autonomous counties, the Sheriffs are the “conservator(s) of the peace”
Frank:
Why didn’t the Socialist-Democrat-controlled legislature simply amend the Delaware Constitution, and eliminate the Sheriff(s) as “conservators of the peace?”
Can’t you see why? Because they wanted to set a precedent. Henceforth, the legislature or the courts can tell us that plain English doesn’t mean what it has meant for hundreds of years.
“Who are you going to believe- me, or your own two eyes?”
………..Groucho Marx.
Lee is the best for Sussex County… Christopher had his day… It has gone too long. We, the people of Sussex County are just tired of it…. We have new problems. Christopher is preventing us from solving them.
Btw. How much of my tax money did he cost us on that lawsuit, again? Would have rather have it fill those pot holes on Rt. 13….
Christopher is more concerned with defending me against a tyranny that doesn’t actually exist than he is in performing the duties and responsibilities of the row office to which he was elected. I am sure he has a great future as Mack’s sidekick and can even keep the moniker “Sheriff” like Mack does, even if he is no longer a sheriff. He could even have a side gig as a local purveyor of doom and gloom products for the 9-12s, like toilet paper, meals in a pouch, etc. Although I would prefer that he live up to his word and leave this God forsaken place, there are ways for him to make his living here and we would not have deal with him sucking taxpayer monies in lawsuits.
The primary results will be a telling indicator of the state of the GOP in Sussex County. I don’t have great expectations for the SCGOP but we’ll find out in a few days.
I’m always surprised to see how willing so many of the kool-aid drinkers are willing to give up their rights and ours by the way, for a RINO, in this case LEE. When the Liberals support Lee, that should speak VOLUMES to you folks but NOPE it doesn’t, it falls on deaf ears!
Just exactly WHAT problems is Sussex County facing that Lee can take care of? Would it be perhaps Markell talking about gun grabbing (confiscation for those kool-aid drinkers). Do you think Lee would protect your rights when he’s NOT even willing to Support, Defend & Protect the Constitution?
What amazes me even more (ok not really with SO MANY RINOS here) is how you all fall into lock step with the same ILK like Boehner, McConnell and many other “supposed” Republicans. You really SHOULD change your party over to DEMOCRAT! You aren’t for saving this state, protecting the Constitution, not one bit! Lee has even come out and said (in so many words) that he just wants to be a YES MAN! YES to WHATEVER County Council tells him to do! So WHY does he need We the People to vote for him? Why not just CHANGE the election of Sheriff to APPOINTED BY ARSEHOLES!
How many know of the Amish farmer that the feds went after for selling his raw milk to customers and his local sheriff INTERPOSED on his behalf? I’d say not many from the looks of many of the replies here. Do you seriously think Lee would interpose on any of our farmers behalf here? What if the EPA came after you for some UNCONSTITUTIONAL crap? OH WAIT – Lee said he’d be a yes man so you might as well SIGN YOUR FARMS OVER folks. ROLL OVER, give it up, be the pusse’s as one above put it!
Sad so many are willing to just roll over, let EPA take over, let GOV take over. Those of you that are willing for that have NO BUSINESS owning a company or farm. You’re a disgrace to our Founders but then what do you know about our Founders, NOT A DARN THING from the sounds of it.
Those of you have think Lee can do a better job are blind. When you and Frank think our Assembly can just go and “CHANGE” the Constitution w/o amending it. What next – what will THEY change because “they don’t like it”? If you are so willing to give up your rights, please MOVE to hmmm, perhaps Venezuela or North Korea, I hear they LOVE kool-aid drinkers there!
I’m still wondering just “what problems” Sheriff Christopher is preventing from being solved?
As for Sheriff Christopher costing the tax payers $$ for that lawsuit, dig your head out of Frank Knotts arse and do some of your OWN research (please that means NOT listening to what Knotts or Lee has to say but researching on your own). Attorneys used were already on retainer and they get paid $12 – $15k a month to be on retainer. The first cost pertaining to the suit was made by County council BEFORE a suit was ever considered by Sheriff Christopher.
I can see there are so many here that believe ANY & ALL the hype spewed forth by Knotts, Lee, Briggs and the rest of the RINOS. Is it ANY wonder this state is STILL BLUE when we have RINOS at the helm?
Kavips,that would be in the neighbothood of $77,000.00.
For Instance, you say I have no brain, yet you condemn a post you say you did not read.
This post was directed directly at you. Why are you not demanding that Christopher actually do the things he claims are his duties as a constitutional sheriff?
“How many know of the Amish farmer that the feds went after for selling his raw milk to customers and his local sheriff INTERPOSED on his behalf?”
this guy couldn’t interpose on behalf of anyone. he can’t even write a ticket for jaywalking and he never will be able to. what is the point?
@Kim
An entire screed and not single word about what the sheriff’s duties are regarding his row office. Coupled with your indiscriminate use of capital words, you personify the failure our educational system. Furthermore, it is evident that people like you really should not vote because you honestly have no clue about who or what your are voting for. Finally, your statement that “Attorneys used were already on retainer and they get paid $12 – $15k a month to be on retainer” is simply your uneducated opinion. Either that or your next post will provide a source for your statement, which I am quite positive you can’t provide because it is simply something you heard sitting on your tail gate knocking back some Bud Lites at the end of a long day.
@Dave ..is it Dave ..or one of the many OTHER pseudo-names you go by because you’re a spineless , UNeducated idiot? I suggest you go back to school Dave! Apparently you have no clue what a real education is. You’re just showing your ignorance thinking I have no clue but not surprised. You’re just another sore loser. As for my statement about the attorneys – it’s fact, not that you have a clue as to what is fact when you support Lee and suck up the koolaid at the Frank Snotts bar of idiots! You want the source, go to the County Council and ask for it – they have it. Apparently you’re too stupid, uneducated (why you guzzle the koolaid spewed out by Snotts & Lee) because you can’t THINK for yourself! Don’t like caps – too bad! Oh by the way, Bud Lites are for you and your loser types, while you drown your sorrows away because you were kicked out of some groups I’m sure! @Saltyindependent might I suggest you do some research as well. You, Dave (we know your real name Dave) and Snotts really need to learn about things! Apparently you missed out and don’t understand that the RINOS only want the Sheriff to report to County Council – that YES MAN syndrome! Did you know that one that has a hunting license has MORE authority than our Sheriff – thanks to the ASSembly (who removed that power)? Oh wait, bet you didn’t know that! According to Delaware code if you hold a valid hunting license in this state you can arrest someone for game and hunting violations. So Dave, can you prove my statement about the Attorney fees is incorrect, or you still playing the Lee/Knotts gang bang?
My real name actually is – Dave and I don’t have to prove anything. You made a statement for which you have no evidence and you expect people to just believe you? Who do you think you are, the Son of God?
i suppose i should chime in here. i have never posted under another name. dave is right though, in that you have not provided any actual evidence to support your claim. dave is an educated person, i believe, because he is very good at argumentative writing (using evidence to support an answer).
i am glad he has no arrest powers. he never will have arrest powers. i dare him to arrest someone for jaywalking. he has less authority than a summer cop in dewey.
I’m glad Kim spoke up. If Kim is for Christopher, that is good enough reason for me and the rest of Sussex County to go with Lee. I encourage all to do the same,
The pusse’ people are down right scary.
@Kim,. is it Kim? Kim, the sheriff supporters have made this retainer claim many times, it is weak at best and a fool’s dodge. A retainer is a place holder and nothing more, it means that when you need a lawyer you have one on the spot. To defend against the sheriff’s law suit would have required many hours of research and also court time, all of which would have been billable hours on top of the retainer. Do you really think that a lawyer would set a price and then work unlimited hours at no extra cost?
I notice that during all of your name calling you didn’t take time to address the real question of the post, is Jeff Christopher derelict in his duties that he himself declares he has, based on the constitution?
You support him and his claims, yet you and others have let him get away with doing nothing but talk about being a defender against corruption and tyranny for four years. He is not letting me down because I do not support his position, but he is letting you and others down who do.
Why are you allowing him to be nothing but a big talking empty promise, demand that he arrest someone under the authority granted him in the state constitution as conservator of the peace, or both of you need to shut up and go away, leave this God forsaken place.
Lee is the best for Sussex County. Period!
The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that under Delaware’s Constitution, Sheriff Christopher doesn’t have the powers he seeks. People can talk about the definition of “Conservator of the Peace” all day long and those 4 words still would not give the Sheriff those powers since those 4 words were applied to a wide range of Delaware officials over the course of multiple Delaware Constitutions.
Sheriff Jeff Christopher can win this election with 100% of the vote, save a dying endangered whale with his bare hands and then walk across the water of the Rehoboth Bay and he still will not have the powers he wants as Sheriff.
It’s over. Forever. And Ever. Amen.
Frank:
Why didn’t the Socialist-Democrat-controlled legislature simply amend the Delaware Constitution, and eliminate the Sheriff(s) as “conservators of the peace?”
I guess they’re not as smart as you Rick. I have my doubts that you actually know what a socialist is.
Rick,
The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that under the Delaware Constitution, the Sheriff doesn’t have inherent powers of arrest or the right to flashing lights and sirens and that the term “Conservator of the Peace” doesn’t come with any inherent powers. Their ruling was unanimous and binding.
The General Assembly changed Delaware Code and shut the Sheriff down. What the General Assembly did was legal and binding. There was no need to change the Constitution.
Turn out the lights, the party is over.
Please pack up and go back to MD or VA or wherever you’re from. Better yet hitch a ride to MA with Chip!
I am so tired of the argument “Well, dagnappit, the Sheriff can arrest people where I come from, why cain’t he do it hyer??” There are NINE state that have the same kind of Sheriff system as we have here, where police work is done by the police, and the Sheriff’s are officers of the court to carry out the duties of the court, but NOT do police patrol work. In some states, it’s County by County, and in other states, it’s STATEWIDE. That is why the Delaware Supreme Court decision will probably not be taken up by any Federal Court because the FEDERAL CONSTITUTION DOES NOT ADDRESS THE OFFICE OR POWERS OF A SHERIFF. Thus, the State Supreme Court is the Court of final ruling on a State Constitutional matter. At least this is what the attorneys tell me, who hopefully know more than I do about the law…
The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that under the Delaware Constitution, the Sheriff doesn’t have inherent powers of arrest or the right to flashing lights and sirens and that the term “Conservator of the Peace” doesn’t come with any inherent powers.
Then I guess the Chief Justice, judges and the Attorney General don’t have any “inherent powers” either;
Article XV
§ 1. Conservators of the peace.
Section 1. The Chancellor, Judges and Attorney-General shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State; and the Sheriffs shall be conservators of the peace within the counties respectively in which they reside.
The reason that the Socialist-Democrat majority didn’t amend the Delaware Constitution is quite simple. They wanted to establish a precedent. Henceforth, even historically and generally-recognized terms (such as “conservator of the peace”) may be arbitrarily ignored or discarded at the whim of the legislature or judiciary. The Delaware Supreme Court decision wasn’t a legal opinion, it was a political screed, with more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. But, the Socialist-Democrats got what they wanted, and now they essentially have carte blanch to do what they want, regardless of constitutional prohibitions.
Our legislature;
“Conservator of the Peace?” That means what we say it means, not what you think it means. After all, who are you going to believe; us, or your own two eyes?”
What’s even more disappointing is that Frank and fans, in their hatred for Christopher, acquiesce to this shredding of the state constitution. Brilliant.
So, Rick, are you then saying that the “Chancellor, Judges and Attorney General”, who are ‘Conservators of the Peace” can arrest people? I was a “Conservator of the Peace” when I was a judge. That phrase means that the office has authority in some aspect of law enforcement”. The Attorney General can bring matters and people to court; judges make decisions and preside at trials; the constitutional sheriff serves legal papers, conducts sales of property to enforce money judgemeints-and other function assigned to him.
If every person could just read the Constitution and decide what it means-and then act-we would not have a representative democracy, we would have anarchy. In our system, when there is a dispute between elected officials as to what a law means, or what a constitutional provision means, the courts rule. In our system, disputes as to the meaning of the Delaware Constitution are resolved by the decision of the Delaware Supreme Court. It has ruled on the powers of the Sheriff. This same process serves to determine the meaning of the US Consitution. There were disputes between elected officials in various states and betwen courts as to whether the 2nd Amendment prohibits laws regulating the ownership of guns or just allows guns owned by members of militias. People who read that amendment have interpreted that both ways. The US Supreme Court has ruled (5-4) that private ownership is allowed. Like it or not, that is the law of the land-until a future US Supreme Court decision decides otherwise.
Thank you Mitch. Rick you are correct, the Chief Justice, judges and the Attorney General don’t have any “inherent powers”, that is why, like the sheriff you can go to state code and find definitions for each office of their powers and authorities.
I should point out to Mitch that he has either knowingly, or by chance pointed out the hypocrisy of the Christopher supporters. When a court finds against them such as in the sheriff case, then the escape hatch is that the court is corrupt, but when in a case like the 2nd Amendment case Mitch pointed to, well then the court is of course right and true. I personally feel both courts got it right.
But Rick, I will attempt to get you to answer a direct question. Is Sheriff Christopher derelict in his duties as defined by himself and you according to your interpretation of the state constitution? Since he has neither interposed himself on behalf of the people, nor has he acted to nullify what you and he have described as an unconstitutional law (HB 325) and an unconstitutional ruling by the courts.
All talk Rick. Oh sure he will travel to the Bundy ranch and act like a big shot out there where he has the built in escape hatch of saying he has no jurisdiction to act,, oh but only if he could! Right Rick?
Rick wrote “What’s even more disappointing is that Frank and fans, in their hatred for Christopher, acquiesce to this shredding of the state constitution. Brilliant.”
What’s disappointing is the fact you think that those who agree with the Delaware Supreme Court ruling do so because of a “hatred” for the Sheriff.
Another interesting question. None, that’s NONE of the other “Conservators of the Peace” in the Constitution have police patrol powers. So what makes the Sheriff think that term gives police powers.
The Governor, nor the Chancellor, nor does a Judge, nor even the Attorney General drive marked police cars, and pull people over or arrest people. If you argue that “Conservator of the Peace” means a police officer, then I guess our good friend Jack Markell can pop a “Kojak” light on his Governor’s car and get out the ticket book and start enforcing speed on Route One. The Justices of the Supreme Court should get some “street time” rounding up crooks themselves. NO! Each Conservator of the Peace has a role in maintaining a peaceful stable government, as defined by the Legislature how that’s done…
I’ve tried to figure this sheriff thing out for some time now, and the only conclusion I can come up with is that the people who want our sheriff to have arresting powers are in fact just dealing with a little personal homesickness.
Maybe from time to time they could just return to their home towns, do some speeding, and get pulled over by their beloved sheriffs…..oh, the memories.
Amen, fighting Blue Hen! I am a native Sussex Countian, and have lived here all my life except for a 14 year stint in Texas. Now that I am a senior citizen, and actually studied Delaware History in High School, which used to be mandatory, I can say any genuine native would laugh at a Sheriff trying to pull him over on the highway because they’ve NEVER had that authority in the LIFETIME of anyone alive.
They have a very important role in enforcing the orders of the Court, delivering summons and subpoenas and conducting Sheriff sales. When Sheriff Swanson was in office, and doing the job he was ELECTED to do, the office was efficient and brought in millions to the county coffers. I am not sure what the current “yahoo” that occupies the office is doing about what he was elected to do, because he’s spent so much time going across the nation whining that he lost power he never had in the first place. This may sound arrogant to say, but speaking as a native (and Mr. Christopher is a transplant) — I agree, if he’s that sentimental about Sheriff’s go back to Maryland. Just be sure to get in a county where the Sheriff’s do police work. Believe it or not, there are counties in Maryland that are just like us here in Delaware, where the Sheriff’s DO NOT do police patrol work, and only serve the Courts just like here. It’s that way in NINE States!!!!
FBH, good point, they could go home and get pulled over by “Rosko P. Coltrain”, then the question becomes, if Christopher were to get the powers he is seeking, who would be his “Boss Hogg”?
interesting read… i had forgotten that one of the judges who wrote the opinion was the preeminent expert in the delaware constitution. in fact, he wrote a book about it.
http://www.theamericanview.com/the-battle-for-the-sheriff-in-delaware-takes-a-bad-turn/
It has nothing to do with personal feelings, for or against the Sherrif. It has to do with his journey down the crazy trail at the expense of the tax payers. We showed him patience right up till the decision was tendered. To save face he continued on his journey. To save Sussex we will show no more patience and vote for Lee.
Yeah, but Salty, that guy is a corrupt judge, didn’t you get the memo on where the escape hatch is located?
WP, we can only hope that a majority of GOP voters understand what is at stake here. Do we want four more years of constant travel on the waaaambulance?