Sussex County sheriff Jeffrey Christopher wants to take his case over sheriff’s arrest powers in Delaware to the federal court system.
Christopher says his lawyers are searching for avenues to appeal Monday’s Delaware’s Supreme Court decision that held his office does not have those powers.
One local legal expert doesn’t believe they’ll have any success.
Widener Law Professor Emeritus Tom Reed says Christopher’s only path is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, and the odds are against him there.
“It is strictly a State Constitutional law decision," said Reed. "The grounds for the decision are state Constitutional law not federal. So, there is absolutely no chance of this being taken up by the Supreme Court of the United States."
Reed adds that any due process argument made by Christopher’s lawyers is unlikely to gain traction.
“We’re not depriving him of his civil rights. The only rights he has are the rights of an office holder and that’s traditionally something that has not been something you can bring into the federal court," said Reed. "The Federal Constitution says no citizen of a state may be deprived of liberty, life or property except by due process of law, but having the power to arrest is neither life, liberty or property as I see it so I don’t think they have anywhere to go.”
Reed says Christopher does have a path outside the courts he could pursue.
"Go in and lobby the General Assembly to change their mind and restore or add to the sheriff's department the power of arrest," said Reed. "That's unlikely, but that's the only thing I can think of to do."