PA Constable question??

[sgmwatkins]

Morning all,

I recently read some interesting posts about about PA constables. What I was not clear on where can they carry and are the covered by LEOSA?

I have a LTCF in PA and if I am correct on this I can carry pretty much everywhere except casinos, courthouses, jails, prisons and schools. Right?

Can a constable carry on school property?

Since I have a LTCF can I carry into an election site if the polls are located in a school?

SGM

[jthrelf]

I believe PA constables are fully sworn law enforcement officers and thus have all of the privledges shared by other LEOs - carry, arrest, etc. But please wait for someone with a better answer.

For school carry, 18 PA.C.S. 912 states:

It shall be a defense that the weapon is possessed and used in conjunction with a lawful supervised school activity or course or is possessed for other lawful purpose.

Other lawful purpose is not defined. Is someone carrying with a valid LTCF another lawful purpose? In my opinion - yes. Is someone carrying in a school with a valid LTCF for the purpose of voting another lawful purpose - I think hell yes. The courts will almost definitely not agree with this though and you would be arrested if found carrying. There is no precedence set yet and it would be expensive and very risky to be the test case!

[freesoul]

Morning all,

I recently read some interesting posts about about PA constables. What I was not clear on where can they carry and are the covered by LEOSA?
see below quoted

I have a LTCF in PA and if I am correct on this I can carry pretty much everywhere except casinos, courthouses, jails, prisons and schools. Right?
Yes, or where private property owner does not allow

Can a constable carry on school property?
If performing judicial duties yes, otherwise grey area see below

Since I have a LTCF can I carry into an election site if the polls are located in a school?
Sure if you want to be a test case "for other lawful purpose"

SGM

Regarding LEOSA- probably but no appelate decisions. From wiki:

The first known criminal prosecution against an individual asserting concealed carry privileges under LEOSA occurred in New York in People v. Rodriguez, Indictment No. 2917 (2006).[15] Rodriguez was a full-time construction worker who was also employed as a Pennsylvania State Constable. He was arrested in New York City for criminal possession of a weapon. He testified in a hearing that he was authorized, qualified, and certified to carry a weapon in his state as a constable. The Court took judicial notice of the various Pennsylvania statutes that authorize constables to carry firearms, make arrests, serve process, and enforce the law. Upon applying LEOSA in terms of the known facts, the Court dismissed the charge against Rodriguez and held that he was covered by section 926B though constables are elected law enforcement officers and they lack government funding.[15]

[Iraqvetwpb]

Morning all,

I recently read some interesting posts about about PA constables. What I was not clear on where can they carry and are the covered by LEOSA?

I have a LTCF in PA and if I am correct on this I can carry pretty much everywhere except casinos, courthouses, jails, prisons and schools. Right?

Can a constable carry on school property?

Since I have a LTCF can I carry into an election site if the polls are located in a school?

SGM

A constable can legally carry anywhere when he or she is on duty and acting in the position of the constable. However, some county court houses may require that constables and other LEO's secure their firearm prior to entering the court house. My county for example only allows the sheriffs dept. to be armed inside the court house.

And yes, constables are covered by LEOSA.

[Steve in PA]

A constable can legally carry anywhere when he or she is on duty and acting in the position of the constable. However, some county court houses may require that constables and other LEO's secure their firearm prior to entering the court house. My county for example only allows the sheriffs dept. to be armed inside the court house.

And yes, constables are covered by LEOSA.

That's pretty funny, especially since sheriff's deputies are not considered "law enforcement" nor are they covered by LEOSA.

[Iraqvetwpb]

That's pretty funny, especially since sheriff's deputies are not considered "law enforcement" nor are they covered by LEOSA.

I wouldn't say it's funny and it really doesn't matter if they are law enforcement or covered by LEOSA. It could be a security company there and the same rules could apply.

But I get what your saying.

The duties of the sheriff in PA are the care, custody and control of the inmates at the county Jail, court house security and non-arrest civil process. Though there are plenty of sheriffs deputies who think and act as though they have a whole lot more power than they do and some counties have county prison boards to oversee the jails / county prisons and corrections officers who are state trained and certified.

But still, the sheriffs department is tasked with the security of the court house and if the Chief Judge of the county only wants his security to be armed inside the court house, then that is what he gets.

[HyDef]

Reviving this thread for a new question. No one in my ward was running for Constable so I did a last minute (election day decision) write-in by asking a few friends who hadn't voted yet to write me in. There are two wards that vote in the building where I vote. The other ward had two guys running for Constable. One of the guys running from that ward ended up getting more write-ins than I did at my ward even though he doesn't live in or vote in it. He lost at his ward and I'm wondering if he would be eligible to take the position in a ward other than his own. I'll call the election bureau in a couple of days when they slow down a bit and ask, but figured I'd ask here in the meantime.

[Statkowski]

If it's one constable per ward, and he doesn't live in your ward, then I fail to see how he'd be eligible to be your ward's constable.

[MT1]

Reviving this thread for a new question. No one in my ward was running for Constable so I did a last minute (election day decision) write-in by asking a few friends who hadn't voted yet to write me in. There are two wards that vote in the building where I vote. The other ward had two guys running for Constable. One of the guys running from that ward ended up getting more write-ins than I did at my ward even though he doesn't live in or vote in it. He lost at his ward and I'm wondering if he would be eligible to take the position in a ward other than his own. I'll call the election bureau in a couple of days when they slow down a bit and ask, but figured I'd ask here in the meantime.

Whether no one is running for Constable in your jurisdiction or not, my first questions would be:

Does the jurisdiction use the constable position?
Is funding budgeted for the position?

Are all local magistrates required to fill the position? It seems to me that many of the local offices in my area don't use/fill the constable positions. If they aren't filling the position and it isn't a line item in the local budget maybe that's why no one is running.

[MT1]

If it's one constable per ward, and he doesn't live in your ward, then I fail to see how he'd be eligible to be your ward's constable.

The number per ward may not have anything to do with a residency requirement.