The Maryland Constitution is not specific on whether and how a sheriff can be removed from office.
The constitution doesn’t explicitly outline how a Maryland sheriff can be removed from office, but a broad provision could be interpreted to allow for the impeachment of a sheriff, according to a Maryland attorney general opinion.
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(41) comments
Boyce Rensberger Apr 12, 2023 7:55am:
"Yep. Many other occupations are more dangerous--loggers, iron workers, miners, roofers and many more. They are more likely to be killed on the job than is a cop. And a cop with a desk job, ha."
The widows and children of my (late) former Metro coworkers can confirm that.
Ya’ll watching the news?!!!
Judge orders Trumpkins to turn over ALL his guns including service weapons!!!
As it should be.
Sheriff Jenkins lied to the DOJ. That is a felony. if guilty he should be locked up and impeached to remove from office, which allows the Governor to appoint a new Sheriff The MGN should be put out of business!
In the lower chamber it would require a simple majority, the Democrats control that. As there are 47 Senators it would take 75% of them to convict or in numbers Republicans have 13 seats, so it would take all of the Democrats and two of the Republicans to uphold Impeachment in the Senate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_Maryland_Senate
The Maryland Senate is the upper house of the Maryland General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Maryland. One Senator is elected from each of the state's 47 electoral districts. As of January 2023, 34 of those seats are held by Democrats and 13 by Republicans. The leader of the Senate is known as the President, a position currently held by Bill Ferguson, who represents Baltimore City. In addition, senators elect a President Pro Tempore, and the respective party caucuses elect a majority and minority leader and a majority and minority whip.
I would think that if a Sheriff was convicted of one or more felonies, politics wouldn't matter.
I completely agree!
If Congress can impeach a President for an incident with an intern, our local council should be empowered to do something about a Sheriff importing weapons of war for a local business owner.
The sheriff as a Maryland constitutional office is part of the judiciary. That reponsibility should rest with the Governor. At the birth of the state the Governors appointed Sheriffs. When appointed changed to elected the MD constitution should have created a mechanism form removal.
I absolutely agree with you on your comment!
Clinton was impeached for lying to the grand jury.
Please be very careful. Jenkins is heavily armed and should be considered dangerous. You really think he wanted machine guns just to play with?
Maybe risky to say in current circumstances--we regretted saying something like it earlier in connection with his being a self-described 'constitutional sheriff'--but riskier still to forget that some of that is undeniably true. & if current circumstances & recent & ongoing events bear keeping in mind, the rest is undeniably possible.
Sorry for going off topic, but what would be even nicer than ability to remove a sheriff from office would be a law against a felon running for president.
Integrity Driven - Jenkins, live by your motto. Show some integrity and take a leave of absence while this is sorted out. You're ruining the morale of the department
Duckett needs to follow the lead of the County Executive and not comment. County Council had zero jurisdiction. His statement is only relevant to FNP.
Why? He is an elected official, has an opinion and expressed it. Nothing wrong with that. And yes, I agree with him.
Speaking of jurisdiction; I do not recall you complaining when Jenkins went to the US-Mexican border and continues to talk about illegal immigration.
Dang, I hate it when young men of color who have a leadership role in the community offer a public opinion. (Let's just get down to brass tacks here, Luv). You don't even see it, which is worse.
Of course, if Mason Carter made the same "public opinion", against a Democratic Sheriff, I'm sure you would fully support. Correct?
Of course I praised his open meetings comments. But hey, try to rope a dope with your own conscience.
Speaking of Mason Carter Luv….do you live in District 5 as I do? Michael Blue and other Council members as well as the CE occasionally write a column in the Woodsboro/Walkersville newspaper about what is being discussed in the Council and what they are doing for the folks in their District. Nothing so far from Mr. Carter. Is he proposing Legislation in the Council to help the County and his District 5 residents? As far as your question about Mr. Mason asking that the Sheriff step down until his Case is resolved, I would support that. You should support Mr. Duckett’s request.
Quotes:
"Currently, the Constitution says in Article 15, Section 2, that any elected official of the state, a Maryland county or Maryland municipality convicted while in office “shall be suspended” from their office without pay or benefits. This applies if they are found guilty of a felony or a misdemeanor related to the officials’ public duties and involves “moral turpitude” for which a penalty may be incarceration, the constitution says."
***Of course, at this point, Jenkins has not been convicted, just indicted.
"A 1973 Maryland attorney general's opinion says the broader impeachment provision could be interpreted as applicable to the sheriff, if the House of Delegates got the two-thirds majority to impeach."
"The opinion says a sheriff could be impeached under the broader provision.
“Hence, a Maryland Sheriff, as a constitutional officer, may well be subject to removal by way of impeachment by the General Assembly,” it reads. A sheriff may also be impeached by the General Assembly on the grounds of a sheriff’s conviction of crimes committed while in office, the opinion says."
***Those last 2 sentences are confusing. It seems clear that upon conviction, a sheriff (Jenkins) could be impeached. What has me confused is this:
"... subject to removal by way of impeachment by the General Assembly,” it reads. A sheriff may also be impeached by the General Assembly..."
Isn't that redundant, or am I missing something?
MD Constitution, article IV, part vii, section 44 states "In case of vacancy by death, resignation, refusal to serve, or neglect to qualify or give bond, or by disqualification or removal from the County or City, the Governor shall appoint a person to be Sheriff for the remainder of the official term."
To me that seems to say, upon disqualification, he's removed and the governor appoints a successor. A federal felony conviction, if he's convicted, feels very disqualifying to me. Hell, a felony indictment feels disqualifying.
Under ATF rules, he can't "transport" a firearm while under a felony indictment. My understanding is that "transport" is broadly defined in the law, so we have a sheriff who won't be able to carry a firearm until the case is resolved and he's found not guilty.
Good point Ned.
I haven't heard anyone else mention that.
This link then scroll to bottom ... https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/are-there-persons-who-cannot-legally-receive-or-possess-firearms-andor-ammunition
Quote from the linked page:
"A person who is under indictment or information for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year cannot lawfully ship, transport, or receive a firearm or ammunition. Such persons may continue to lawfully possess firearms and ammunition obtained prior to the indictment or information, but cannot do so once the conviction becomes final."
Sounds like a major snag for a sheriff (if/when he's convicted).
As a resident and a voter we should have the power to remove them
Crab0721
As voters we did have the power to elect him! Which a majority of us did. Now a small minority of the left in power want to remove him. Scary what is happening to this country if you are on the right side of things today they will destroy you. Here is a man that put his life on the line to keep Frederick County safe for over 30 years. This is BS
Crab
He put his life on the line to keep Frederick County safe for over 30 years? So why haven’t I ever read a story about him putting his life on the line in the FNP?
Plumbum was just saying the FNP gave Mr. Jenkins too much coverage this last election cycle and I tend to agree with plumbum, so you mean to tell me the FNP missed Mr. Jenkins putting his life on line? Maybe you can give us a few examples?
Granted innocent until proven guilty but c’mon you really wouldn’t feel better if he stepped away until this was concluded? I can’t see this working out well for him if he doesn’t…everything and anything he does from here on out is going to examined under a microscope….and everything he has done in the past is going to be examined with a fine tooth comb…that isn’t someone I want being in charge of keeping me safe… but that’s just me
All law enforcement, all fire fighters, make a decision to netter into their careers on their own free will. Those on the road, those on the streets, know what they may face. No one gets special treatment and free passes. Becoming an officer of the law is not a freer pass to break and or circumvent any laws.
Please live more rationally.
Plumb,
I've met a MSP Trooper and a MoCo cop who would vehemently disagree. In fact, both told me that being a LEO gave them the *right* to break the law (at least traffic laws)!
The trooper told me that if I went to the police academy then I could ignore traffic laws also. IOW, in his mind, all cops have the right to flagrantly violate traffic laws with impunity.
The MoCo cop told me that he was shot in the leg in the line of duty, and (in his fevered mind) that gave him the right to disregard traffic laws.
It is apparent to anyone who has spent any amount of time on the road that their opinion is widespread among police officers. Not being bound by any pesky traffic rules and regulations is seen as a perk that comes with the job.
I agree that no one, no matter who they are, should get "special treatment and free passes.'
Correction: enter, not netter
Yes, he won a majority. 51.3% ... To 48.5%. To pretend it was a landslide is disingenuous. If the election were held today knowing of the investigation I'm sure enough moderates would have not voted for Jenkins. He should take leave (as others have in his dept when under investigation). Trust is eroded.
And please be aware of the FCSO’S motto
😂😂😂
INTEGRITY DRIVEN
😂😂😂😂😂
Frankle1, thanks for this reminder & reality check
Put his life on the line? No! He probably has the safest position in the entire department. The officers out on patrol are the ones who put their lives on the line. Not the guy who sits in the cushy office and only responds to a scene after the risk has ended. Jenkins needs to do the right thing and take a leave of absence. I'm not saying he should be removed from office and I'm not saying it needs to be unpaid. But he does need to take a leave while the court does their thing.
Yep. Many other occupations are more dangerous--loggers, iron workers, miners, roofers and many more. They are more likely to be killed on the job than is a cop. And a cop with a desk job, ha.
The Left is running the FBI corruption squad that put away a ton of PG County polls? Man, the victimization that Trump sowed through the Republican Party is pathetic.
The "BS" is the notion that there is only a "small minority on the Left" who care about illegal gun trafficking. The sheriff should take his own motto to heart and put himself on leave for the duration. He is welcome to seek an expedited trial if he desires to put this to rest.
Seconding that & echoing or adding to what others have said--no matter how ambiguous the legalities are & how uncertain the outcome may be, there's still the outside chance that the sheriff will honor the better angels of his nature, & all the residents of the county he's pledged to protect & serve, & do the right thing: "put himself on leave for the duration," & even if he's not convicted (apparently a Trump-appointed judge is in the mix) leave office.
Andy Scholtz, just remember, you have Trumpkins way too much attention during the last election. How nice……
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