Upon the vacancy of the sheriff, the coroner is empowered to act as sheriff until a successor is chosen.

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Dec 08 2019 11:04 PM

In Lowndes County the Coroner became Sheriff. He has only served one year of the first four years as Coroner. But as of the death of the Big John Williams,  Lowndes County Sheriff, Coroner Terrell Means became Sheriff. Means will remain Sheriff until Alabama Governor Kay Ivey appoints someone as Sheriff.

If the County has a Supernumerary Sheriff, one elected during a certain time period, then that person would become Sheriff. Lowndes County has no Supernumerary Sheriff.

That led to a recent discussion with someone concerning the need to change who would fill the vacancy of Sheriff. However in the discussion the person of which I was talking did not realize a few key factors:

(1) To be a Coroner a person must be at least 25 years of age. Alabama law requires continuing education in order to be a Coroner and so many hours a year in order to remain a Coroner. All Coroners in the State of Alabama are mandated to participate in initial and on-going training.  The Coroners' Training Commission is task with tracking and aiding all Coroners with their training

(2) To be a Sheriff a person must be at least 18 year of age. Alabama law requires absolutely no training in order to be a Sheriff and no hours of continuing education is required to remain a Sheriff.

FUNNY NOTE:   You can not be Coroner until age 25, and mandatory training is required.

You can be Sheriff at age 18, command a 200 men and women department, but the Sheriff could be arrested for Minor in Possession of Alcohol is caught in his possession!!! Just a funny note to me.

CLICK FOR QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO FOR OFFICES IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA

A very interesting fact I learned several years ago concerning the Alabama Attorney General

The Attorney General of Alabama is an elected constitutional officer in the Alabama state government. The attorney general serves as the state's chief law officer and chief law enforcement officer. He may also initiate both civil and criminal court action to protect the state's interests or to enforce state law.

WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL?

Qualifications for the office of attorney general are described in Article V, Section 132 of the state constitution. Candidates for the office must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, a resident of Alabama for five years, and at least 25 years of age.

ANSWER:    A law degree! While the attorney general serves as the state's chief law officer and chief law enforcement officer. He may also initiate both civil and criminal court action to protect the state's interests or to enforce state law. No requirement, according to Alabama Secretary of State, for the Alabama Attorney General to have a law degree.

CLICK FOR QUALIFICATIONS TO BECOME ALABAMA'S TOP LAWYER

Qualifications for the Office of Sheriff; 

to be only 18 years of age or older

The code of Alabama does not expressly provide qualifications for the office of sheriff. The code does, however, place limitations on the eligibility of an individual to hold a state office.

Since the office of sheriff is considered to be a state office, Vinson v. Clark County, 10 F. Supp. 2d 1282, 1295 (S.D. Ala. 1998), Caldwell v. Brogden, 678 So. 2d 1148, 1150 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996), the following persons are disqualified from holding the office of sheriff:

(1) Those who are not qualified electors . . . ; (2) Those who have not been inhabitants of the state, county, district or circuit for the period required by the Constitution and laws of the state; (3) Those who shall have been convicted of treason, embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in office, larceny, bribery or any other crime punishable by imprisonment in the state or federal penitentiary and those who are idiots or insane; (4) Those against whom there is a judgment unpaid for any moneys received by them in any official capacity due to the United States, this state or any county or municipality thereof; and (5) Soldiers, seamen or marines in the regular army or navy of the United States; (6) Those who already hold another state or federal office. Ala. Code § 36-2-1; Ala. Code § 36-2-1(b). These eligibility requirements must be met throughout the sheriff's tenure in office.

If for some reason a sheriff is disqualified from holding the position of sheriff during the elected term, the sheriff must vacate the office. State ex rel. Graddick v. Rampey, 407 So. 2d 823, 826 (Ala. 1981)

Upon the vacancy of the sheriff, the coroner is empowered to act as sheriff until a successor is chosen. Ala. Code § 11-5-5. The successor is chosen by appointment rather than by election. A person appointed by the Governor to fill an unexpired term in the office of sheriff can hold office only for the length of the former sheriff's unexpired term and until the successor is elected and qualified. Dowling v. White, 116 Ala. 306, 309, 23 So. 133, 133 (Ala. 1897).

QUALIFICATIONS TO A CORONER IN ALABAMA

Section 3.

(a) A coroner who owns, operates, is employed by, or otherwise has an interest in a funeral establishment is deemed to have a conflict of interest and shall not direct business to the establishment when performing his or her duties under the laws of this state.

 (b) Nothing in this section shall prevent a person from taking the body of the deceased to a funeral establishment in which the coroner has an interest if the person decides to do so without the suggestion of the coroner.

 (c) The provisions of this section shall not apply if an emergency situation exists and the coroner acts in good faith to prevent a health hazard.

 (d) Any person who knowingly violates subsection

 (a), shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

 Section 4.

(a) No person shall be eligible to hold the office of coroner unless he or she meets the following qualifications:

 (1) A citizen of the United States.

 (2) A resident in the county in which he or she seeks the office of coroner for at least one year prior to his or her qualifying for election to the office and remains a resident of the county during his or her term of office.

 (3) A registered voter.

 (4) Attained the age of 25 years prior to the date of the general primary election in the year that he or she qualifies for election to the office.

 (5) Obtained a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

 (6) Not been convicted of a felony offense or any offense involving moral turpitude contrary to the laws of Alabama, or any other state, or the United States.

 (7) Successfully completed the next scheduled training course no longer than 180 days after his or her election or appointment, unless an affidavit affirms that the requirement of this subdivision has been met at the time of qualifying for the office.

 (b) Each person offering his or her candidacy for the office of coroner shall file an affidavit with the judge of probate before whom the person has qualified to seek the office of coroner prior to or at the time of qualifying, which affidavit shall affirm that he or she meets all the qualifications required pursuant to this section.

THIS BRINGS ME TO ONE FINAL THOUGHT

Some say Alabama Coroner's do not have arrest power. 

According to Jason Shaw, Associate Applied Science Criminal Justice, Columbia Southern University (2013);

In the State of Alabama the only person who can legally arrest a county sheriff is the coroner for that county. No police officer, deputy sheriff, state trooper, or any other sworn peace officer has the authority to arrest a sheriff.

If Officer Smith stops a car and the driver is the county sheriff who is drunk, Officer Smith can legally detain the sheriff until the county coroner can get there to place the sheriff under arrest. If officers were dispatched to a domestic violence call at the sheriff’s house and found probable cause to arrest the sheriff for domestic violence, they can legally detain him on scene until the coroner can arrive to legally arrest the sheriff.

Even if a warrant of arrest is issued for the sheriff, the coroner has to execute it.

So how can a Coroner have arrest power in one instance but not general arrest power. The Attorney General Opinion below refers to Coroner as "other law enforcement".

BELOW:   Picture Number 1 is Lowndes County Coroner Terrell Means. Picture Number 2 and Number 3 depict from the Alabama Secretary of State the requirements to be Sheriff and Coroner.

IN HENRY COUNTY ALABAMA:   When Guy Hunt was Governor of Alabama the sitting Henry County Alabama Sheriff, Sheriff Welcher, died with cancer while in office. Upon his death Henry County Coroner Norman Holman immediately became the Henry County Sheriff until the Alabama Governor appointed a Sheriff.

Lawton Ed Armstrong and James Golden were both running for office. In a effort to be fair where neither had a incumbent advantage over the other, Alabama Governor Guy Hunt appointed the Coroner, Norman Holman, to fill both the Coroner and Sheriff duties. 

In November Lawton Ed Armstrong was elected Sheriff. Holman being appointed was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the Henry County Sheriff. He enjoyed it so he remained in office until the last day, which was in January, when the official swearing in of Armstrong was to take place.

Removal Body AG by Rickey Stokes on Scribd

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