Ezel / AG Opinions / MS
MS 2024-05-A-HopkinsJr-May-10-2024-Administration-of-Oath-of-Office May 10, 2024

Who can swear in a Mississippi sheriff, and can a sheriff swear in his own deputies?

Short answer: Municipal judges, notaries public, and the other officials in § 11-1-1 may swear in any Mississippi elected official, no matter the county. A sheriff is not authorized to administer oaths and cannot swear in his own deputies.
Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page, or PDF in the sidebar) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original AG opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Stone County had a practical problem. The newly elected sheriff needed to be sworn in. Local logistics suggested asking a Gulfport municipal judge (who is also Gulfport's chief magistrate) to do it, even though Gulfport is in Harrison County, not Stone County. The county attorney asked the AG seven questions about who exactly is authorized to administer the oath of office in Mississippi, whether geography matters, and whether the sheriff can then swear in his own deputies.

The answers turn on a single statute: Mississippi Code Annotated Section 11-1-1. That statute lists who is authorized to administer oaths:

A judge of any court of record, clerk of such court, court reporter of such court, master, member of the board of supervisors, justice court judge, notary public, mayor, or police justice of a city, town or village, clerk of a municipality, and any officer of any other state, or of the United States, authorized by the law thereof to administer oaths, the judge of any court of record, or the mayor or chief magistrate of any city, borough or corporation of a foreign country; may administer oaths and take and certify affidavits . . . .

Section 21-23-1 ties the dated terminology to modern practice: "police justice" means municipal judge, "police court" means municipal court. So municipal judges are on the § 11-1-1 list.

The sheriff is not on the list.

The AG's seven answers, in order:

  1. Yes, a municipal judge can administer the oath of office to elected officials. Municipal judges fall within § 11-1-1.

  2. Yes, a municipal judge can administer the oath even if the official is from an adjoining county. Section 11-1-1 has no geographic restriction. The AG cited the 1993 Greenlee opinion confirming this.

  3. Yes, the Gulfport judge (who is also chief magistrate) can swear in the Stone County sheriff. Both municipal judges and chief magistrates are on the § 11-1-1 list, and the cross-county point is settled by answer 2.

  4. Yes, a municipal judge of an adjoining county can swear in the sheriff if that judge is also a notary public. Either authority alone (municipal judge or notary) would suffice.

  5. Yes, a municipal judge from Harrison County (Gulfport "police justice") can swear in the Stone County sheriff. "Police justice" is the older name for municipal judge under § 21-23-1, so this is the same authority as in answers 1 and 3.

  6. No, the sheriff cannot administer the oath of office to his own deputies. Section 19-25-19 requires deputies to take an oath but does not give the sheriff the power to administer it. Sheriffs are not on the § 11-1-1 list.

  7. No, the sheriff is not authorized under § 11-1-1 to administer oaths just because he holds office. Same answer as 6.

The bottom line: the list in § 11-1-1 is what controls. If you are on the list, you can administer oaths anywhere in Mississippi. If you are not on the list, you cannot, regardless of what other authority you hold.

What this means for you

If you are a newly elected Mississippi official looking for someone to swear you in

Your options are wide. Any of the following can administer your oath of office, anywhere in Mississippi:

  • Any judge of a court of record (chancery, circuit, county, justice, municipal)
  • Court clerks and court reporters of those courts
  • Members of the board of supervisors
  • Justice court judges
  • Notaries public
  • Mayors
  • Municipal judges (and "police justices," same thing)
  • Municipal clerks
  • Federal or other-state officers authorized by their own law to administer oaths

You do not need to find someone in your home county. You do not need a special form. You just need any one of these people to administer the oath. Many notaries public are easy to find at banks, real estate offices, and courthouses.

If you are a newly elected sheriff with deputies to swear in

You cannot swear them in personally, even though § 19-25-19 is the source of your authority to appoint them. Find someone on the § 11-1-1 list to administer the deputies' oaths. A justice court judge, a municipal judge, a board of supervisors member, or a notary public is the easy path.

If you are a sheriff or other official who has been administering oaths to deputies

This opinion does not retroactively invalidate past oaths (the AG does not address past actions), but going forward, you should not administer oaths if you are not on the § 11-1-1 list. The opinion is clear: a sheriff is not authorized.

If you are a court clerk, justice court judge, or notary

You have statewide authority. Geography does not limit you. If a sheriff or other official from another county asks for your help, you can administer the oath. Make sure you certify properly and keep good records, especially when you are administering oaths outside your usual jurisdiction. The certification should clearly identify your office and authority.

If you are a county attorney advising local officials

The § 11-1-1 list is exhaustive for "every-court-or-law" oath authority. There may be other Mississippi statutes that grant specific officials oath-administration powers in narrow contexts (e.g., notarial acts, specialty courts). But for the routine administration of an elected official's oath of office, § 11-1-1 controls. If your sheriff or other official has been swearing in deputies or others, recommend that the practice change.

Common questions

Q: What is the actual oath text?
A: The Mississippi Constitution prescribes oaths for various offices. The substance varies by office. The opinion is about who can administer the oath, not what the oath says.

Q: Can the same notary or judge administer oaths to multiple officials at the same ceremony?
A: Yes, there is no one-at-a-time rule. Group swearing-in is common practice.

Q: Why isn't the sheriff on the § 11-1-1 list?
A: The legislature chose not to include the sheriff. Sheriffs have many statutory duties (peacekeeping, jail operation, civil process service), but oath administration is not one of them. If the legislature wants to add sheriffs, it can amend § 11-1-1.

Q: Can a chancery judge from one county administer the oath to an elected official from another county?
A: Yes. Judges of any court of record are on the § 11-1-1 list, and the list does not have geographic restrictions. Greenlee (Aug. 18, 1993) confirms this for criminal affidavits, and the same logic applies to oaths of office.

Q: What about lifetime appointments like the chief magistrate? Does that confer oath authority?
A: Yes, "chief magistrate of any city, borough or corporation" is on the list. So the chief magistrate of a Mississippi city can administer oaths.

Q: Does Section 25-1-9 add anything?
A: Section 25-1-9 says that an oath of office may be taken before any person authorized by law to administer an oath. That is the cross-reference that points back to § 11-1-1 and other oath-administration statutes. It does not expand the list of authorized administrators; it confirms that an authorized person under the law can administer office oaths.

Q: If a sheriff swears in his deputies and the question of validity arises later, what happens?
A: That is a fact-specific question this opinion does not answer. The cleaner path is to redo the oath with someone on the § 11-1-1 list, especially if anyone might later challenge the deputy's authority to act. There is no statutory penalty for an unauthorized administration, but litigation involving an act by the deputy could raise the issue.

Background and statutory framework

Section 11-1-1 is the master list of oath-administration officers. The list is detailed and inclusive of judicial, executive, and notarial officers. The relevant text:

A judge of any court of record, clerk of such court, court reporter of such court, master, member of the board of supervisors, justice court judge, notary public, mayor, or police justice of a city, town or village, clerk of a municipality, and any officer of any other state, or of the United States, authorized by the law thereof to administer oaths, the judge of any court of record, or the mayor or chief magistrate of any city, borough or corporation of a foreign country; may administer oaths and take and certify affidavits whenever the same may be necessary or proper in a proceeding in any court or under any law of this state, or for the purpose of taking depositions of any party of interest, or witnesses of any suit pending before any such court, or for the perpetuation of testimony, as provided in Section 13-1-57, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Section 21-23-1 modernizes the dated terms: "Wherever the words 'police court' or 'police justice' appear in the laws of this state, they shall mean municipal court or municipal judge, respectively." So everywhere § 11-1-1 says "police justice," read "municipal judge."

Section 25-1-9 states the general rule for office oaths: "The oath of office may be taken by all officers before any person authorized by law to administer an oath." That cross-references back to § 11-1-1.

Section 19-25-19 grants sheriffs authority to appoint deputy sheriffs and requires deputies to take an oath, but does not give the sheriff the power to administer that oath.

Citations

  • Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-1
  • Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-1
  • Miss. Code Ann. § 19-25-19
  • Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-9
  • Miss. Code Ann. § 13-1-57
  • MS AG Op., Greenlee (Aug. 18, 1993)

Source

Original opinion text

May 10, 2024
A. Norris Hopkins, Jr., Esq.
Attorney, Stone County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Box 1510
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502-1510
Re: Administration of Oath of Office

Dear Mr. Hopkins:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented
1. Is a presiding municipal court judge considered one that may administer oaths to elected officials pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 11-1-1?
2. If the answer to question number one is yes, would the answer be different if the municipal court judge presided over a court in the adjoining county?
3. May the city of Gulfport judge, who is also the chief magistrate, swear in the newly elected sheriff of Stone County?
4. May a municipal court judge of an adjoining county swear in the newly elected sheriff of Stone County if that municipal court judge is a notary public?
5. May a municipal court judge from Harrison County, who is also the police justice for the city of Gulfport, swear in the newly elected sheriff of Stone County?
6. May the newly elected sheriff of Stone County, after being administered the oath of office pursuant to Section 11-1-1, administer the oath to his deputies in keeping with Section 19-25-19?
7. Is the sheriff of Stone County, after receiving the oath of office pursuant to Section 11-1-1, considered an individual authorized under Section 11-1-1 to administer oaths under Section 11-1-1?

Brief Response
1. Yes. A municipal judge is authorized to administer oaths pursuant to Section 11-1-1.
2. A municipal judge may administer an oath to an elected official from an adjoining county.
3. Yes. Both municipal judges and chief magistrates of a city are authorized by Section 11-1-1 to administer oaths of office or swear in elected officials no matter where they are located.
4. Yes. Both municipal judges and notaries public are authorized by Section 11-1-1 to administer oaths of office or swear in elected officials.
5. Yes. See Response 2 as well as Section 21-23-1 (stating that "police justice" means municipal judge).
6. No. A sheriff is not authorized by Section 11-1-1 to administer oaths.
7. No. A sheriff is not authorized by Section 11-1-1 to administer oaths.

Applicable Law and Discussion
Pursuant to Section 25-1-9, "[t]he oath of office may be taken by all officers before any person authorized by law to administer an oath." With respect to who is authorized to administer oaths, Section 11-1-1 provides:

A judge of any court of record, clerk of such court, court reporter of such court, master, member of the board of supervisors, justice court judge, notary public, mayor, or police justice of a city, town or village, clerk of a municipality, and any officer of any other state, or of the United States, authorized by the law thereof to administer oaths, the judge of any court of record, or the mayor or chief magistrate of any city, borough or corporation of a foreign country; may administer oaths and take and certify affidavits whenever the same may be necessary or proper in a proceeding in any court or under any law of this state, or for the purpose of taking depositions of any party of interest, or witnesses of any suit pending before any such court, or for the perpetuation of testimony, as provided in Section 13-1-57, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Further, "[w]herever the words 'police court' or 'police justice' appear in the laws of this state, they shall mean municipal court or municipal judge, respectively." Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-1. Thus, a municipal judge may administer oaths of office to elected officials pursuant to Section 11-1-1.

You ask several questions regarding the ability of an individual to administer the oath of office or swear in a public official from an adjoining county. There is nothing in Section 11-1-1 restricting its application within the same county or municipality. It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that a person authorized to administer oaths may swear in a public official from another county or municipality. See MS AG Op., Greenlee at *1 (Aug. 18, 1993) (stating "that a criminal affidavit can be acknowledged by any person authorized by law to administer oaths. This would include, in our opinion, the court clerk from another jurisdiction or a notary public.").

In your request, you also cite Section 19-25-19, which grants sheriffs the power to appoint deputy sheriffs and further requires deputy sheriffs to take an oath of office. Notably, this statute does not confer on the sheriff the authority to administer the oath. A sheriff is not listed in Section 11-1-1 as an individual authorized to administer oaths. Thus, a sheriff does not have the authority to personally swear in his or her deputies.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General