Sessions calls sheriffs a 'critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement'
BY
REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/12/18 12:46 PM EST
Attorney General
Jeff Sessions on Monday talked about the "Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement" when speaking to law enforcement officials.
Speaking to the National Sheriffs' Association, Sessions said he wanted to "thank every sheriff in America."
"Since our founding, the independently elected sheriff has been the people's protector, who keeps law enforcement close to and accountable to people through the elected process," he said,
according to CNN.
"The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement."
Sessions added that "we must never erode this historical office."
CNN reported that Sessions strayed from a
written version of the prepared remarks, which read: "The sheriff is a critical part of our legal heritage."
According
to The Washington Post, the word "sheriff" combines the Anglo-Saxon words for "shire," which we now call a county, and "reeve," which means guardian.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson defended the language calling it commonly used to refer to the "shared legal heritage" between England and America.
“As most law students learn in the first week of their first year, Anglo-American law – also known as the common law – is a shared legal heritage between England and America. The sheriff is unique to that shared legal heritage. Before reporters sloppily imply nefarious meaning behind the term, we would suggest that they read any number of the Supreme Court opinions that use the term. Or they could simply put ‘Anglo-American law’ into Google.”
on.
