AREA COUNTIES – A high bailiff is an elected public official whose office is unique to local government in Vermont. High bailiffs are elected in each of Vermont’s 14 counties to serve written legal orders, called writs, when the county sheriff is unable to serve them, and to temporarily succeed to the office when the position is vacant.
Unopposed Robert Gerrish (R) was elected high bailiff in Caledonia County with almost 75% of the votes cast.
In Lamoille County unopposed Kevin Lehoe (R) was elected high bailiff with just over 69% of the votes.
Washington County’s high bailiff will be Shawn M. McManis (D), elected with a bit over 72% of the vote.
in Essex County, where there was no one on the ballot, voters wrote-in Eric Engel’s name 89 times out of 3,456 mostly blank votes for that position.
In practice, a high bailiff will have work to do only when a writ must be served on the sheriff. Those writs would include the sheriff’s arrest, a summons to be served upon the sheriff or a writ of attachment to enforce a court judgment against the sheriff.
The high bailiff will also be called on to perform the sheriff’s duties if the sheriff is confined or the office is vacant. If the confinement was due to an arrest, the sheriff could resume serving upon their release.
Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux told VTDigger in 2020, “the high bailiff position should have ‘intimate knowledge’ of law enforcement. If that person were to step in to lead the sheriff’s office, they’d be overseeing responsibilities like transporting prisoners and working with courts.’
“Still Marcoux said that even in the instance that a high bailiff needs to step in to fill in for the sheriff, it likely won’t be for long; the governor typically appoints a replacement in short order.
“When asked about the importance of the high bailiff position, Marcoux was blunt: ‘I don’t think it’s very important at all.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
