Can the Kentucky governor send the state police in to arrest county clerks who continue to defy?

[bluestateguy]

As in could the governor send the state police to a county clerk's office to arrest a county clerk who continues to defy state law and the USSC?

And then what? Could state employees brush aside county workers who defy the law, and just issue the marriage liscences in their place?

[kentuck]

1. I think it's a misdemeanor??

That might be looked at as a bit of an over-reaction?

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

3. True, but cuffs, mug shot, and fingerprinting might just

be enough for most of them to realize they get paid to do a job.

The one who openly defied the governor should be publicly arrested and forced to see the system from the side of the guilty.

[Travis_0004]

6. Kentucky law generally does not allow police to arrest for a misdemeanor

[kentuck]

9. Especially if they are elected officials...

just like the Governor.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

18. Yes, generally you are correct. However, defying the highest elected official might

cause this exception to come into play:

Doesn't the governor, like the President, represent the commander-in-chief for his state and give orders to his state police executive? I assume in one of his many roles, a governor does qualify as a peace officer, but then I am no legal expert.

(1)(b) A peace officer may make an arrest instead of issuing a citation for a
misdemeanor committed in his or her presence if the misdemeanor is:
3. An offense in which the defendant refuses to follow the peace
officer's reasonable instructions.

So yes, take the extra step and issue him a citation if necessary, but it seems that (1)(b)(3) does apply.

[Travis_0004]

19. The governor is not a peace officer

Also, a peace officer is not going to instruct a person to start issuing a marriage license. They are going to instruct a person to appear before a judge at a later date.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

20. Yes, I know. Just like the President is not a member of the Armed Forces.

And I'm not looking for a fight. Just curious. What meaning does an order from a governor have? And how different is it among our 50 states?

Does the Secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Safety Cabinet operate independently from the rest of the governor's cabinet, or like the nation's Joint Chiefs, does s/he take orders directly from the highest elected official?

I really don't know. But my assumption is that a governor's order would go to the Secretary and then be passed to the head of the state police.

[Ex Lurker]

2. Easier and less inflammatory to just put a hold on their paychecks NT

[elleng]

17. Yes, that's what I'm thinking too,

and will surely get their attention.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Why not just fire them?

Or, there's a possible legal remedy called a writ of mandamus. This is a court order directing a public official to perform an act that they are obligated by law to do. If they disobeyed the order they could be held in contempt of court.

[SCantiGOP]

5. I don't think the Gov can fire them

I think the contempt of court is the way to go. I don't think the Gov can remove an elected official until he/she has been indicted or ordered sanctioned by a court.

[murielm99]

7. County clerks cannot be fired if

they are elected officials. Their staff can be fired. Deprive them of staff.

I have not looked at their state constitution. I don't know how they can be held accountable. Maybe there might be a way for the governor to withhold funds or issue executive orders. Maybe someone else here knows more about it.

[kentuck]

11. I would think that the way they might go...?

...would be to call a special election to remove the clerk? I have no idea how Governor Beshear will handle it?

[CK_John]

8. No, these are elected officials and can not be just fired.

[SCantiGOP]

10. Nor can you cut/eliminate their salary

To make sure a Governor doesn't use that tactic to interfere with a local issue without proper authority.
Let the courts handle it.

[Skittles]

15. what if they cannot do their job?

[HooptieWagon]

12. Are they an employee or an elected official?

[Tom_Foolery]

21. Elected. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

13. If you're not doing your job, you've quit.

As long as someone has proof that they're not doing their jobs, a judge should be able to remove or reassign them.

Why should taxpayers subsidize people who won't work or follow the law?

They break the law, the forfeit their job protection.

[Hekate]

14. Nah. That's what Human Resources Departments are for: fire them for cause...

....if they can't pull themselves together and perform their jobs.

[alfredo]

16. Arresting them would make them martyrs.

[backscatter712]

22. IIRC, the legal way to do it is to get a writ of mandamus.

First thing is to fire them. Then if they continue to occupy government property, he can have law enforcement remove them.

Scratch that. The thing that the governor can do, or a same-sex couple trying to get married, is to go to the courts, and using the Obergefell v. Hodges case, get a writ of mandamus, which is a court order that orders a government official to do his or her fucking job.

Usually, the intransigent dipshits trying to obstruct will back down before this point, but if not, then an elected official that fails to obey a writ of mandamus can be held in contempt by the courts, and the court can send law enforcement officers to arrest them, haul them before the bench, and jail them.