‹ Back

Why I Will Make The Sheriff's Oath Of Office Public [Video]

 

 

Please enjoy this video on the Michigan laws concerning the Sheriff's oath of office, and why I plan on making copies of the oath easily accessible to the public without requiring FOIA.

 

Watch On Youtube >>

 

Accompanying Docs:

- Oath of Office (.pdf)

- MCL 168-200 (.pdf)

- MCL 168-204 (.pdf)

 

  

 

 

It may be a cynical statement, but I believe that the Oath of Office is mere “lip service” to most public officials.

MCL 168.200(Michigan Compiled Law) designates the following as County officers:

 

MCL 168.200 County officers; election; combination or separation of offices of county clerk and register of deeds.
Sec. 200. (1) A county clerk, a county treasurer, a register of deeds, a prosecuting attorney, a sheriff, a drain commissioner, and a surveyor shall be elected at the 2000 general November election and every fourth year after that.  However, in a county in which 1 of these offices is abolished or combined as provided by law, no person shall be elected to that office in that county.

MCL 168.204(Michigan Complied Law) stipulates the following with regards to Oaths and Bonds for County Officers:

 

168.204 County officers; oath of office, bond, deposit.

Sec. 204. Every person elected to an office named in section 200 of this act, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe to the oath as provided in section 1 of article 11 of the state constitution and, with the exception of the prosecuting attorney, shall give bond in the amount and manner prescribed by law and shall deposit said oath with the county clerk and said bond with the county treasurer.  The county treasurer shall file his bond with the county clerk.

In the event that I am elected through Primary and General Elections to the office of Jackson County Sheriff, I will maintain copies of my signed Oath of Office on file with the office of the Jackson County Clerk.  These copies will be available in the lobby of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department at no cost to the public (I will pay out of pocket cost to the clerk’s office) and without necessitating a FOIA request.  The signed Oath of Office for public officials should be readily available for all without formal request from the public or financial charges.

 

To provide additional commitment to the Oath of Office, I will appeal to all personnel in the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department who are required to Swear an Oath to job performance, to voluntarily retake the same Oath.

 

- Scott Aughney, candidate for the office of Sheriff in Jackson County, Michigan

 

You can follow Scott on: Facebook / Youtube / X / Instagram