High sheriff
In England and Wales, the offices of high sheriff were created at the direction of the Local Government Act 1972 incepting on 1 April 1974.
The website of the High Sheriffs’ Association of England and Wales stated in 2021 that the role was a "non-political Royal appointment", for one year, and unpaid.
The term, from the Old English scīrgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a reeve) throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king.
[4] According to historian George Molyneaux, "the late tenth century is a very plausible period for the introduction of sheriffs, especially in the south.
[citation needed] The Sheriffs Act 1887 (as amended) provides that sheriffs should be nominated on 12 November (Martinmas), or the Monday following if it falls on a Sunday, by any two or more of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Lord President of the Council, and the Lord Chief Justice of England; other members of the Privy Council; and any two or more judges of the High Court.
[9] These officers nominate three candidates for each county in England and Wales (with the exception of Cornwall, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire), which are enrolled on a parchment by the King's Remembrancer.
In February or March of each year, two parchments prepared the previous November are presented to the Sovereign at a meeting of the Privy Council.
[12] Certain eligible persons (High Court judges and the Privy Council) nominate candidates for each county shrievalty, one of whom is chosen for each by the sovereign.
The sovereign signifies assent by pricking (i.e., piercing) the document with a silver bodkin by the relevant name for each county, and signs the parchment when complete.
[13] The term lites, meaning list, was once reserved for Yorkshire;[14] the date at which the name was transferred to Lancashire is unknown.
[13] The practice is believed to date back to a year in the reign of Elizabeth I, when, lacking a pen, she decided to use her bodkin to mark the name instead.
By contrast, Lord Campbell stated, perhaps without the intention of publication, in February 1847, "[it began] in ancient times, sir, when sovereigns did not know how to write their names."
Given that holders of the office often had to bear large costs and implement unpopular policies altering the choice of the monarch must sometimes have been tempting.
The high sheriff was traditionally responsible for the maintenance of law and order within the county, although most of these duties are now delegated to the police.
The high sheriff was originally allowed to kill suspects resisting arrest;[citation needed] this was still legal in the 17th century.
[citation needed] When there is no Duke of Cornwall, the Duchy Council still sits, but under the trusteeship of the English (since 1707, British) monarch.
[30] After an act of Parliament in 1535/6 ended the palatine status of the Isle, the bishop remained custos rotulorum and appointed a chief bailiff for life to perform the functions of high sheriff within the liberty.
In New Hampshire, the ten high sheriffs are the senior law enforcement officers of each county, and have police powers throughout the state.
