- posse comitatus
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'the power of the county'. The sheriff was able to call together able-bodied men to keep the peace. The institution transplanted to the USA, thence into ordinary parlance: 'round up a posse'.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
- posse comitatus
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(pah-see kom-i-tah-tuhs) Latin for "power of the county." The power of the sheriff to call upon any able-bodied citizens to help keep the peace or apprehend a criminal.Category: Criminal LawCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- posse comitatus
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n. Latin Power of the county.1 A sheriff may summon citizens to assist him in making an arrest; hence posse in the traditional Old West sense.2 A federal statute prohibiting the Army and Air Force from direct participation in civilian law-enforcement activities.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- posse comitatus
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(Latin: Power of the county.)Referred at common law to all males over the age of fifteen on whom a sheriff could call for assistance in preventing any type of civil disorder.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- posse comitatus
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[Latin, Power of the county.] Referred at common law to all males over the age of fifteen on whom a sheriff could call for assistance in preventing any type of civil disorder.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- posse comitatus
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[pahs-see coh-mitt-tah-tus]n.from Latin for "possible force," the power of the sheriff to call upon any able- bodied adult men (and presumably women) in the county to assist him in apprehending a criminal. The assembled group is called a posse for short.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
