Bailiff
Bailiff (from Late
Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of
bajulus) is a governor or custodian (cf.
bail); a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly.
England
The term was first applied in
England to the king's officers generally, such as
sheriffs,
mayors, etc., and more particularly to the chief officer of a
hundred. The
county within which the sheriff exercises his jurisdiction is still called his
bailiwick, while the term bailiff is retained as a title by the chief magistrates of various towns and the keepers of royal castles, as the high bailiff of
Westminster, the bailiff of
Dover Castle, etc. Under the manorial system, the bailiff, the
steward and the
reeve were important officers; the bailiff managed the property of the manor and superintended its cultivation (see Walter of Henley, Husbandry,
R. Hist. Soc., 1890).
In England, the bailiff of a franchise or liberty is the officer who executes
writs and
processes, and impanels juries within the franchise. He is appointed by the lord of such franchise (who, in the Sheriffs Act 1887, § 34, is referred to as the bailiff of the franchise).
The bailiff of a sheriff is an under-officer employed by a sheriff within a county for the purpose of executing writs, processes,
distraints and
arrests. As a sheriff is liable for the acts of his officers acting under his warrant, his bailiffs are annually bound to him in an obligation with sureties for the faithful discharge of their office, and thence are called bound bailiffs. They are also often called bum-bailiffs, or, shortly, bums. The origin of this word is uncertain; the New English Dictionary suggests that it is in allusion to the mode of catching the offender. Special bailiffs are officers appointed by the sheriff at the request of a plaintiff for the purpose of executing a particular process. The appointment of a special bailiff relieves the sheriff from all responsibility until the party is arrested and delivered into the sheriff's actual custody.
By the County Courts Act
1888, it is provided that there shall be one or more high-bailiffs, appointed by the judge and removable by the lord-chancellor; and every person discharging the duties of high-bailiff is empowered to appoint a sufficient number of able and fit persons as bailiffs to assist him, whom he can dismiss at his pleasure. The duty of the high-bailiff is to serve all summonses and orders, and execute all the warrants, precepts and writs issued out of the court. The high bailiff is responsible for all the acts and defaults of himself, and of the bailiffs appointed to assist him, in the same way as a sheriff of a county is responsible for the acts and defaults of himself and his officers. By the same act (§49) bailiffs are answerable for any connivance, omission or neglect to levy any such execution. No action can be brought against a bailiff acting under order of the court without six days' notice (§52). Any warrant to a bailiff to give possession of a tenement justifies him in entering upon the premises named in the warrant, and giving possession, provided the entry be made between the hours of 9 A.M. and 4 P.M. (§ 142). The Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888 enacts that no person may act as a bailiff to levy any distress for rent, unless he is authorized by a county-court judge to act as a bailiff.
Scotland
The
Scottish form of this post is the
bailie. Bailies served as
burgh magistrates in the system of
local government in Scotland before
1975 when the system of burghs and
counties was replaced by a two-tier system of Regional Councils and District Councils. The two-tier system was later replaced by a system of
unitary authorities.
Under the new arrangements the bailies were abolished and replaced by
Justices of the Peace serving in the
District Courts of Scotland, these posts no longer holding any authority within the
local authority as an administrative body.
The Scottish equivalent of a sheriff's bailiff or high bailiff is the
sheriff officer (for the
Sheriff Court) or the
messenger-at-arms (for the
Court of Session).
Channel Islands
See also Bailiff (Channel Islands)In the
Channel Islands the
bailiff is the first civil officer in each of the two bailiwicks. He is appointed by
the Crown, and generally holds office for life. He presides at the Royal Court, and takes the opinions of the
jurats; he also presides over the States, and represents the crown in all civil matters. Though he need not necessarily have had legal training, he is usually selected from among those who have held some appointment at the island bar.
Isle of Man
The
High Bailiff is the head stipendiary magistrate in the
Isle of Man.
In the
United States bailiffs, sometimes known as
marshals or court officers, are the law enforcement arm of the court. They keep order in the court, serve legal process or other court documents, and take charge of
juries when the court is not in session. Also bailiffs will provide general security for the courthouse and its staff. Generally the local sheriff's office provides
deputy sheriffs to fill this function.
In the state of
Vermont, the
High Bailliff is a
constitutional officer elected in each county, responsible for filling the role of sheriff when the office-holder is unable, such as when he is a party to the matter at hand. The responsibilities of the high bailiff are defined in
state statute.
In the state of
New York,
NYS Court Officers are sworn
peace officers and are employed by The New York State Office of Court Administration, not local sheriff's departments. Utilizing an independent, state law enforcement agency that is separate from local departments displays the impartiality of the judicial system as well as unifies statewide security procedure. Three NYS Court Officers were killed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the
World Trade Center in
New York City. Dozens of Court Officers from the courts in lower
Manhattan responded to the scene prior to the collapse of the towers.
The State of
Michigan also has
court officers appointed by the district court to serve process, as well as executing Orders to Seize Property (formerly known as Execution Against Property), and enforcing landlord-tenant
evictions (Writ of Restitution). In some cases, court officers have the authority to
arrest subjects with outstanding civil
bench warrants. Court officers are usually
subcontractors, being
sworn by the court administrator, under the supervision of the judicial counsel. In counties that do not have court officers,
civil process is usually forwarded to the
sheriff's office to execute.
Under the
ancien régime in France, the
bailli was the king's representative in the
bailliage (
bailiwick), charged with the application of justice and control of the administration. In southern France, the term generally used was
sénéchal (cf
seneschal) who held office in the
sénéchaussée.
The administrative network of
baillages was established in the 13th century over the king's land (the
domaine royal), notably by
Philippe Augustes. They were based on the earlier medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the "baillie") which had been used by earlier soverein princes (such as the Duke of Normandy). The creation of the royal
bailliages reduced prior existing judicial courts to a subaltern rank; these lower courts were called:
*
prévôtés royales supervised by a
prévôt appointed and paid by the
bailli* or (as was the case in
Normandy)
vicomtés supervised by a
vicomte (the position could be held by non-nobles)
* or (in parts of northern France) châtellenies supervised by a
châtelain (the position could be held by non-nobles)
* or, in the south,
vigueries or
baylies supervised by a
viguier or a
bayle.
The court or tribunal of the
bailliage was presided by a
lieutenant général du bailli. Tribunals in
bailliages and
sénéchaussées were the first court of appeal for lower courts, but the court of first instance for affairs involving the
nobility. To appeal their decisions, one turned to the regional
parlements. In an effort to reduce the case load in the parlements, certain
bailliages were given extended powers by
Henri II of France: these were called
présidiaux.
Bailliages and
présidiaux were also the first court for certain crimes (these cases had formerly been under the supervision of the local seigneurs): sacrilege, lèse-majesté, kidnapping, rape, heresy, alteration of money, sedition, insurrections, and the illegal carrying of arms.
By the late 16th century, the role of the "bailli" had become merely honorary, and judicial power was invested solely in the lieutenant général of the
bailliage. The administrative and financial role of the
bailliages and
sénéchaussées declined in the
early modern period (superseded by the king's
intendants and by regional gouverneurs), and by the end of the 18th century, the
bailliages, which numbered into the hundreds, served only a judicial function.
In French, a court bailiff is called a "
huissier de justice".
Quebec
In
Quebec bailiffs are responsible for the service of
legal process. Duties of the bailiff include the service of legal documents, repossession and evictions in accordance with court judgments, application of the
Denver boot and the execution of arrest warrants. They receive a special training and now must have a degree in Paralegal Technology to become a bailiff. Bailiffs are only allowed to be "armed" with handcuffs on duty.
As most people's contact with bailiffs is when a bailiff comes to take property to enforce debt, in former times in
The Fens of eastern
England, the term "Bailiff of
Bedford" was often used as
slang for destructive floods of the
River Great Ouse.
*
*
Sheriff*
Tipstaff*
Constable*
Marshal
