Summary
In Beasley v. Ridout, supra, this Court said, under the present Constitution, the powers and duties which the sheriff is to exercise and perform, are not such alone as were then determined by the common law, but were those thereafter fixed by law, whether the effect of such law was to repeal, enlarge, or limit those powers.
Summary of this case from Green v. StateOpinion
Decided April 30th, 1913.
Sheriff's fees: constitutional limitation; office expenses; discretion of legislature; extra fee for applying death penalty.
Chapter 23 of the Acts of 1912, allowing to a sheriff a sum of money for the expenses of his office (in addition to his salary), is not a violation of Article 15, § 1 of the Constitution, limiting the salaries of certain public officers.
Such a matter is within the legislative control; if the amount so appropriated exceeds the actual expenses, the sheriff must account therefor to the Comptroller and pay the excess over to the Treasurer.
The provision in the Act allowing the Sheriff, besides his salary, a fee of $300 for executing the death penalty, is unconstitutional.
Decided April 30th, 1913.
Two appeals from the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County (BRASHEARS, J.).
The causes were argued together before BOYD, C.J., BRISCOE, BURKE, THOMAS, PATTISON, STOCKBRIDGE and CONSTABLE, JJ.
W. Hallam Claude and Robert Moss, for the appellants.
Ridgely P. Melvin, for the appellees.