Meet the sheriffs who believe they are ‘The Highest Law in the Land’

Oct 24, 2024

Jessica Pishko, a lawyer and journalist, dives into the unchecked power of sheriffs in her book, highlighting their crucial role in American democracy. She discusses the rural-urban divide, revealing how rural sheriffs tend to represent more conservative views. Pishko also explores the rise of the 'constitutional sheriff' movement, where some assert they alone can interpret laws, creating tensions in law enforcement. Additionally, she raises concerns about accountability and ethical issues within sheriff's offices, particularly relating to inmate treatment.

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INSIGHT

Sheriffs' Broad County Authority

Sheriffs are county-elected law enforcement officials with broad duties including policing, jail management, and civil functions.
About 85% of county jails are run by sheriffs, giving them major influence over incarceration conditions.

INSIGHT

Representation Mismatch By County

One sheriff represents vastly different populations: some counties have hundreds, others millions of residents.
This structural mismatch makes many sheriffs represent rural, conservative populations disproportionate to state populations.

INSIGHT

What Constitutional Sheriffs Claim

The "constitutional sheriff" movement claims sheriffs can decide which laws are constitutional and refuse enforcement.
In practice it advances far-right positions on guns, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and states' rights, not neutral constitutionalism.

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The first image conjured in your mind by the word “sheriff” might be the protagonist of a Wild West movie or Robin Hood’s foe, the Sheriff of Nottingham. But unless you’re a resident of Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii and Rhode Island, there’s likely an elected law-enforcement official in your area who holds that title.

In The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko takes a deep dive into the history of this position in American life, and at a far-right movement hoping to co-opt the role of sheriff to advance extreme conservative policies.

There are some 3,000 sheriffs in the United States, one per county (or county equivalent). In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Pishko and the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles discuss how the rural/urban divide impacts the demographics of sheriffs. Ninety-seven percent of the land area in the United States is considered rural, but only 20% of the people live in those rural areas. In the 2020 census, Greene County, Alabama, had 7,730 residents and one sheriff. Cook County, Illinois, which contains the city of Chicago, had 5,275,541 residents and one sheriff. This leads to a larger proportion of sheriffs representing a rural and more conservative demographic, Pishko says.

Pishko explains the “constitutional sheriff” movement, including its similarities to other fringe movements like the sovereign citizens. Adherents claim that sheriffs alone have the power to interpret how the Constitution and the first 10 Amendments should be enforced in their counties. They claim that state governments, the federal government, the president and the U.S. Supreme Court have no power over sheriffs, and that as elected officials, sheriffs are answerable only to their constituents.

In this episode, Pishko also describes the large role sheriffs have in incarcerations, how their enforcement powers differ or overlap with police, and what disciplinary or oversight measures are available when a sheriff abuses their office. Pishko and Rawles also discuss the roles sheriffs might have in local elections, and whether they might have an impact on the 2024 presidential election.