Time: Thu Jun 19 09:09:07 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id JAA12504; Thu, 19 Jun 1997 09:01:26 -0700 (MST) by usr08.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id JAA23752; Thu, 19 Jun 1997 09:01:18 -0700 (MST) Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 08:59:48 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Utah sheriffs take on feds. (fwd) <snip> > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>Utah Sheriffs Lose a Round To Federal Cops >> >> BY BRENT ISRAELSEN >> THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE >> >> Federal land-management agencies can continue to arrest >>people on state charges -- at >> least for two more months. >> On Tuesday, to the chagrin of rural Utah sheriffs, the >>state Council on Peace Officer >> Standards and Training (POST) did not rescind state police >>power it grants to >> law-enforcement officers of the U.S. Forest Service and the >>Bureau of Land Management. >> Instead, the 17-member council -- composed of sheriffs, >>police chiefs and political figures >> from around the state -- voted to send the issue to a >>committee and to newly appointed >> POST director Sid Groll for further study. >> Groll said he will bring a recommendation to the >>council for its next meeting in August. >> Led by Millard County Sheriff Ed Phillips, rural >>sheriffs urged the council Tuesday to take >> away federal officers' state police powers. >> Relying largely on anecdotal testimony, the sheriffs >>cited several reasons for wanting to >> relieve the feds of state authority: >> -- The federal police overstep their bounds by pro- >>actively enforcing state criminal law. >> -- They are poorly trained in state law. >> -- They are not accountable. >> But the underlying rationale appears to be a >>fundamental question of states' rights vis-a-vis >> the federal government. >> According to Phillips' view of the Constitution, Uncle >>Sam is responsible for protecting >> the nation from foreign invasion, while local sheriffs are >>charged with keeping people within >> the borders from hurting each other. >> ``The citizens elected 29 sheriffs in this state,'' >>Phillips said. ``Utah citizens did not elect >> [Interior Secretary] Bruce Babbitt or [Acting BLM Director] >>Sylvia Baca to run law >> enforcement here in Utah.'' >> With about 30 officers between them, the BLM and Forest >>Service enforce federal laws >> and regulations on nearly 30 million acres -- or 56 percent >>-- of land in Utah. >> Often finding themselves on the defensive, BLM and >>Forest Service law-enforcement >> representatives told the POST Council they do not have the >>interest or staff to conduct >> criminal investigations. They want state police authority >>only to protect them from civil >> liability in emergency situations and to help local police >>keep the peace on public lands. >> ``We're not here [in Utah] as a takeover, conspiracy >>force,'' said Mac Thomson, who >> heads law enforcement for the Forest Service in Utah. >> Thomson and Keith Aller, special agent in charge of BLM >>law enforcement in Utah, said >> if the rural sheriffs have trouble with a particular >>federal officer, they should air their >> grievances with BLM superiors. >> But some rural sheriffs said airing grievances often is >>difficult because of the decentralized >> or inaccessible chain-of-command in the federal land- >>management agencies. >> Though most of Tuesday's discussion centered on state >>authority granted to the BLM and >> Forest Service, POST Councilman Lee Allen, a Box Elder >>County commissioner, said >> National Park Service rangers often are heavy-handed in >>their enforcement. >> Directing his remarks to the feds in attendance, Allen >>said, ``Just tell your folks, `For >> heck's sake, back off and think a little bit and use common >>sense.' '' >> In an interview afterward, Groll said he favors a >>change in the Utah statute that delineates >> how federal agencies are granted state police authority. >>Groll, a former Cache County >> sheriff, said he would like to see that decision rest with >>each county sheriff. > >>Posted for personal non-profit research and edcuational purposes. >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >-- >For help with Majordomo commands, send a message to majordomo@zilker.net >with the word help in the message body. > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >Unsub info - send e-mail to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com, with >"unsubscribe liberty-and-justice" in the body (not the subject) >Liberty-and-Justice list-owner is Mike Goldman <whig@pobox.com> > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.2 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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