High bailiff (Vermont)
A high bailiff in the U.S. state of Vermont is an elected public official whose office is unique to local government in Vermont.[1] High bailiffs are elected in each of Vermont's fourteen counties.[1]
The duties of high bailiff are to serve writs which the sheriff is incapable of serving, such as the writ of arrest of the sheriff, and to temporarily succeed to the office of the sheriff in the event of the sheriff's incarceration or incapacity.[2][3] The position is unpaid.[4] In practice, an officeholder "rarely, if ever, does anything"; in 2016, the high bailiff of Addison County noted that it was not unusual for a person to hold the office for more than two decades without having to perform any official function.[4] Addison County Sheriff Don Keeler said in 2012 that he believed he was the only Vermont high bailiff to have performed an official act in the preceding five decades (when he took over as acting sheriff in April 2012, after the sheriff died in office; Governor Peter Shumlin appointed Keeler sheriff a few months later).[4]
While historically the office has largely been held by members of the law enforcement community, in 2020 several candidates ran for high bailiff on a platform calling for civilian oversight of law enforcement.[5] Three of those candidates won: former State's Attorney Bobby Sand in Windsor County, college student Asa Skinder in Washington County,[6] and attorney and drug policy reform advocate Dave Silberman in Addison County.[7]
In 2024, no candidates filed to run for high bailiff of Orange County, and two write-in candidates campaigned for the post.[1] The winner of that race was Chris Helali, a social studies teacher.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Isabel Dreher, Sudden Interest In Unsung Office: High Bailiff Election Sees Two Write-In Campaigns, The White River Valley Herald (October 31, 2024).
- ^ Hewitt, Elizabeth (August 10, 2020). "Candidates see oversight potential in the little used position of high bailiff". VTDigger. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ Title 24 § 331–3 (Vermont Statutes Online 2011).
- ^ a b c Kirkaldy, Andy (October 27, 2016). "No pay? No work? Why not, say two high bailiff candidates". Addison Independent. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ ""Making Powerful People Feel Uncomfortable Is A Good Thing": Enter Vermont's High Bailiffs". The Appeal Political Report. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ "VT Elections Database » Candidate Profile..." VT Elections Database. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ Jaeger, Kyle (June 3, 2020). "Meet the Vermont marijuana legalization advocate running for the office of 'high bailiff'". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ https://www.ourherald.com/articles/helali-wins-high-bailiff-as-write-in/