Nate Monroe: 'Jacksonville's charter — its governing document — is clear: Should the sheriff 'remove his residence from Duval County during his term of office' the position 'shall become vacant.''
But Jacksonville's charter — its governing document — is clear: Should the sheriff"remove his residence from Duval County during his term of office" the position"shall become vacant." There is no Florida statute that either requires sheriffs to live in the counties in which they serve or prohibits cities and counties from imposing such a requirement.
And since there is no such ban on Duval imposing a residency requirement, the residency requirement in the charter is valid. Still, that wouldn't necessarily be the end of the issue. Were Teal to, for example, find that Williams had vacated the office, Williams could file suit to test his legal theory about the charter requirement in court and convince a judge to reinstate him.