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sher·iff n [Old English scīrgerēfa, from scīr shire + gerēfa reeve (king's agent)]: an official of a county or parish charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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n.An officer elected by a county to keep the peace, enforce laws, serve process, execute judgments, and perform other such duties; the term is also sometimes used to refer to a deputy sheriff or sheriff’s deputy.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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the shire reeve. In England, the sheriff is the chief officer of the county. The sheriff is the official to whom judgments of the High Court are sent for enforcement although in practice enforcement is carried out by the under-sheriff. In cases where the sheriff cannot act, writs are sent to the coroner and then passed to the under-sheriff to act for the coroner. In Scotland, the sheriff is a judge who sits in the Sheriff Court with powers to deal with many civil actions, including many of unlimited value, and a criminal jurisdiction to sentence for up to three years if sitting with a jury.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
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The top law enforcement officer for a county, usually elected, who is responsible for police protection outside of incorporated cities, management of the county jail, and providing bailiffs for protection of the courts. The sheriff's uniformed police are called deputy sheriffs. A sheriff also handles civil activities like serving summons, subpenas, and writs, conducting judgment sales, and fulfilling various functions ordered by the courts.Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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Usually the chief peace officer of a county.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
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I
Usually the chief peace officer of a county.II The executive officer of local court in some areas. In other jurisdictions the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of a county.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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n.the top law enforcement officer for a county, usually elected and responsible for police protection outside of incorporated cities, management of the county jail, providing bailiffs for protection of the courts, and such civil activities as serving summonses, subpenas and writs, conducting judgment sales, and fulfilling various functions ordered by the courts. The office was brought to the United States from England and is unknown in most nations which use federal and state police. Canada, for example, has the highly professional Royal Canadian Mounted Police (and its Quebec equivalent) to serve for most non-municipal law enforcement. The position of sheriff has been criticized as lacking training standards, being overly political, not being coordinated with other jurisdictions, and being hampered by its lack of authority beyond the county line except when in "hot pursuit" of a suspect who crosses the county line. The sheriff's uniformed police are called "deputy sheriffs," with the number two person often entitled "under sheriff."
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
