A GOP-sponsored constitutional amendment that would empower local county sheriffs with authority over federal investigations is an attempt to please conservative Missourians who are angry about federalism, according to a former Missouri Supreme Court judge.
“We've always had this tension throughout American history,” said Attorney Michael Wolff, who served on the Missouri Supreme Court as a judge for 12 years and as a professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law. “We had one war about it. We could do another one, I suppose, but it's not a good idea.”
Wolff was reacting to the news that the Missouri Senate General Laws Committee considered state Senator Jill Carter (R-Granby)’s Senate Joint Resolution during a hearing on April 5, according to media reports.
"They might be serious about it, but it doesn't look like anything like that is going to pass out of this general assembly," Wolff told the St. Louis Record. "They've only got two and a half weeks left, and they've got more to do than they know what to do with. So, it's not even on a calendar anywhere that I know of."
Under SJR 42, elected county sheriffs would oversee all federal and state investigations, apprehend and commit to jail all felons and traitors, and would only be removed from office by a writ filed by the acting Attorney General.
“The reach of federal authority has been expanded to include enforcement of laws that relate to public corruption, so you'd be putting oversight of those kinds of investigations under the control of a locally elected official,” Wolff said in an interview. “That's probably not a good idea unless you're fond of corruption.”
If the constitutional amendment were approved by voters and signed by Gov. Mike Parson, Wolff added that U.S. Pres. Joe Biden’s administration would likely sue.
“A federal judge would undoubtedly strike it down just like they did for the Second Amendment Protection Act," he said.
The Second Amendment Protection Act (SAPA) invalidated several federal firearm laws and allowed Missourians to file a $50,000 lawsuit against law enforcement when their Second Amendment rights had been violated until U.S. District Court Judge Brian Wimes, an Obama appointee, rendered SAPA null and void.
“Sections 1.420(2) and 1.420(3) create confusion regarding registration of firearms by purporting to invalidate federal registration and tracking requirements,” Wimes wrote in his March 7 order. “The logical implication is that Missouri citizens need not comply with federal licensing and registration requirements within the borders of [Missouri]. Since Missouri citizens must comply with federal registration and licensing requirements for firearms notwithstanding SAPA’s definition of infringements, § 1.420(2) and 1.420(3) stand as obstacles to the full purposes and objectives of federal firearms regulatory measures and are preempted.”