A law proposed in Tennessee would make federal law enforcement have to seek the approval of the local Sheriff's office in order to make arrests or conduct raids in the state. This is part of a larger movement by the states to force the federal government to respect the 10th amendment.
A new bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly states that a federal employee who is not designated as a Tennessee peace officer may not make an arrest or conduct a search and seizure in the Volunteer State without the express consent of the sheriff of the county in which the arrest, search, and seizure is to occur except under certain enumerated circumstances.
No vague request will satisfy the mandates of the measure were it to be enacted by the General Assembly of the Tennessee and signed into law by the governor. In fact, the bill explicitly requires that the permission request contain the following information:
(A) The name of the subject of the arrest, search, or seizure;
(B) A clear statement of probable cause for the arrest, search, or seizure or a federal arrest, search, or seizure warrant that contains a clear statement of probable cause;
seized;
(C) A description of the specific things to be searched for or
(D) A statement of the date and time that the arrest, search, or seizure is to occur; and
(E) The address or location where the intended arrest, search, or seizure will be attempted.
The serious and very powerful posture struck by the measure is undeniable. In Section 1, Paragraph (f), the proposed law sets forth the punishments to be imposed upon a federal officer failing to conform to the dictates thereof:
An arrest, search, or seizure or attempted arrest, search, or seizure in violation of subsection (a) is unlawful, and the persons involved shall be prosecuted by the county attorney for kidnapping if an arrest or attempted arrest occurred, for trespass if a search or attempted search occurred, for theft if a seizure or attempted seizure occurred, and for any applicable homicide offense if loss of life occurred. The persons involved shall also be charged with any other applicable criminal offense.
Furthermore, if any county attorney fails to timely and properly prosecute the federal agent accused of violating the law’s mandates regarding arrest, search, and seizure, that attorney is subject to recall by the voters and “to prosecution by the attorney general for official misconduct.
Under the wording of our Constitution the County Sheriff has always been the final authority in authorizing arrests and searches and seizures. As the politicians in the federal government have incrementally usurped the rights given to the sovereign states and set aside the dictates of Posse Comitatus, the agents of the federal government have taken control of the responsibilities that rightfully belong to the Sheriff of each county.
This usurpation is most visible in the airports throughout our country. Nowhere in the constitution is exception given to exempt airports from the safeguards against illegal search and seizure and sexual assault practiced daily by federal agents of the TSA. In the recent past our airport security was conducted by private security organizations under the watchful eyes of sheriff deputies in keeping with the lawful requirements of our constitution. The efficiency of that system was much better than the documented lack of efficiency associated with the TSA.
The widespread takeover of law enforcement duties by federal agents has transformed our country into a police state that promises to continue to grow. It's time we return to the county sheriffs as the primary law enforcement officials. This will bring the voting citizens of each county closer to their elected officials and increase accountability at the local level.
Source: The New American
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