Raised:
USD $1,650
Campaign funds will be received by PA State Constables Revitalization Fund
Pennsylvania State Constables originated in 1664. They are the first law enforcement and peace officers (Police) in the commonwealth. Over the last few decades folk lore and law by legend has caused this position to be greatly misunderstood. While other agencies have been formed and absorbed many of their responsibilities, The Pennsylvania State Constable still to this day retains some of the broadest powers and authority of law enforcement within the state.
With the current social decline, municipal budget constraints, and decrease in law enforcement applicants, some constables of today have been stepping up in areas around the commonwealth to assist as they once had. This has created even more confusion amongst communities and other agencies due to their significant misunderstanding of the position. Some law enforcement agencies are so misinformed that they have threatened to prosecute Constables for performing duties that are statutorily granted to them. Pennsylvania Constables are a crucial part of municipal law enforcement across the Commonwealth, yet our work is poorly understood. We have retained legal counsel to revitalize our rights to perform our duties and to enjoin others from violating those rights.
CONFUSION IN PA APPELLATE COURTS
Pennsylvania’s appellate courts have stated that “[t]he authority of a constable is
not entirely clear,” Commonwealth v. Garner, No. 453 MDA 2016, 2017 WL 111247,
at *4 (Pa. Super. Ct. Jan. 11, 2017). In several cases, they have recognized Constables’
common law authority to perform warrantless arrests for a felony or breach of the
peace:
In summary, we hold that constables possess the common law
powers to conduct warrantless arrests for felonies and breaches of
the peace. Since those powers have not been abrogated by our
statutory law, they are retained by the constables of this
Commonwealth. Thus, constables currently possess the power to
make warrantless arrests for felony violations of the drug laws.
Commonwealth v. Taylor, 677 A.2d 846, 852 (Pa. Super. 1996), opinion modified on
reconsideration (June 24, 1996) (citation omitted). 1
However, courts have also held that the authority of Constables is based only in
statute. For example, in Commonwealth v. Roose, 710 A.2d 1129, 1130 (Pa. 1998),
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that, “[u]nlike sheriffs, whose powers grew
in the common law tradition to include broad law enforcement authority, the
powers of constables were not developed as fully in such a strong common law
tradition, but were rather set forth in a series of statutes.” 2
1 This holding was seemingly questioned by the Superior Court in Commonwealth v. Roose, 456
Pa.Super. 238 (1997), the following year, but it has been reiterated many more times since. See
Commonwealth v. Allen, 206 A.3d 1123, 1127 (Pa. Super. 2019) (“Our jurisprudence recognizes,
therefore, that the common law confers arrest powers upon constables for in-presence felonies or
breaches of the peace.”).
2 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Leet, 641 A.2d 299 (Pa. 1994), explained
that sheriffs, due to their common law powers, had the authority to enforce the motor vehicle laws
2
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
We have suffered as Constables from the confusion in appellate courts. Certain
government officials have interpreted these decisions so as to limit our rights to
perform the duties for which we were elected. We want to set the record straight.
A close look at statutes governing the Constabulary suggests that some duties
are obligatory and that Constables are entitled to perform them; in fact, Constables
may face criminal charges or fines for failing to perform certain duties once elected.
See, e.g., 44 Pa.C.S. §§ 7175, 7177, 7178.
Among Constables’ obligatory duties:
“The constable of a borough, township or ward, or his deputy, shall . . . [b]e
present at the polling place in each election . . . for the purpose of preserving
the peace.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7152.
“[T]he constable of a borough shall, without warrant and upon view, arrest
and commit for hearing any person who . . . is guilty of a breach of the peace,
vagrancy, riotous or disorderly conduct or drunkenness.” 44 Pa.C.S. §
7158(1).
“[T]he constable of a borough shall, without warrant and upon view, arrest
and commit for hearing any person who . . . [m]ay be engaged in the
commission of any unlawful act tending to imperil the personal security or
endanger the property of the citizens.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7158(2).
“[T]he constable of a borough shall, without warrant and upon view, arrest
and commit for hearing any person who . . . [v]iolates any ordinance of the
borough for which a fine or penalty is imposed.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7158(3).
When notified and able and available to assist, “[t]he constable of the
township, borough or ward . . . shall impound the livestock” trespassing on
another’s land and notify the owner. 44 Pa.C.S. § 7159.
In contrast, some duties appear more discretionary, but the discretion lies with
the Constable, who may choose whether or not to perform them. 3 For example:
“[T]he constable may, without first procuring a warrant, arrest” individuals
trespassing in forests under reasonable suspicion of violating “any law for
the protection of forests and timber land.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7155 (emphasis
added).
Finally, other duties—and the right to perform them—seem to attach only when
and where Constables have been asked by others to perform them. For example:
unless contravened by statute. The Roose Court concluded that, “conversely, as to constables, it
seems proper to conclude that unless a statute empowers them to enforce the vehicle laws, then they
do not possess the legal authority to do so.” Roose, 710 A.2d at 1139.
3 Functionally, there may be little difference between these duties and mandatory duties, as some
level of discretion is involved with both.
3
“If no coroner is in commission to serve process [in certain actions], a
constable in the county where the process has been issued may serve as the
coroner . . . .” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7153.
At the request of a tax collector and after satisfying other requirements,
constables are authorized to arrest “delinquent tax payers.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7154.
Constables may be asked to serve and execute writs of execution. 44 Pa.C.S. §
7156.
“A court may summon a constable to appear before it and direct the
constable to investigate a complaint of a violation of law or of a condition . . .
and to make a report of his investigation.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7157.
Constables have authority to serve process when requested. See 4 Pa. C.S. §
7156; 42 Pa. C.S. § 1513; 44 Pa.C.S. § 7157; and see In re Act 147 of 1990, 598
A.2d 985, 990 (Pa. 1991).
Constables may be enlisted to assist in landlord-tenant cases. 44 Pa.C.S. §
7161(d)-(f).
Constables may be asked to execute warrants of arrest in criminal cases,
including “taking custody of a defendant.” 44 Pa.C.S. § 7161(g).
With regard to the first category—those duties which are portrayed in the
statutes as obligatory—we believe a municipality or law enforcement officer
attempting to limit a Constables’ right to perform them risks violating Constables’
rights. Constables who wish to, for example, make an arrest for on the basis that
another’s “personal security” is threatened, 44 Pa.C.S. § 7158(2), would have a
strong argument that they are entitled to do so and cannot be prohibited from doing
so by a municipality or other law enforcement officer.
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