We really know what their duties are? Tom Humphrey reports that Eddie Bass seems to think so:
State Rep. Eddie Bass, a former Giles County sheriff, has proposed an amendment to the state Constitution the declares the duties of a Tennessee sheriff cannot be “diminished or taken away” by county government.
“The sheriff is the only law enforcement officer elected by the people,” said Bass, D-Prospect. “He is the chief law enforcement officer of a county and we all know what the duties are. This would clarify that and put it in the Constitution.”
The state constitution now says in Article VII, Section 1, that voters in each county shall elect a sheriff and other specific local officials with the General Assembly to prescribe “their qualifications and duties.”
The state Supreme Court has ruled, however, that another portion of the constitution allows counties with a charter form of government – which Knox and Shelby counties have adopted – authority to set different standards.
Here’s a copy of the proposed Amendment. Here’s the question no one asks: how will this affect the big counties like Shelby and Davidson where the Sheriffs do nothing but run the jail? Pandora’s Box looks to be open soon if this passes.