Bad Leadershit and Gun Control

The bad decision making that leads to gun control is similar to poor leadership practices.

Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker pushed the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) through the legislature which “protects” Illinois citizens by essentially banning almost all semi-automatic rifles and sets up the same for pistols and shotguns in the future.

In response, no less than 74 of the 102 elected Illinois sheriffs have stated they will not enforce the law; more may also choose to not enforce it but haven’t openly stated so. This would make enforcement of the law problematic when about 75% of the enforcement team openly refuses. Pritzker’s response so far has been to threaten to remove all sheriffs refusing to comply. In addition to the potential unconstitutional ramifications, this has been a study on bad leadership.

Bad Leadership: Use of Threats and Punishment

Threats and punishment are simply bad and generally ineffective leadership tactics. Outright threatening subordinates is a sign of a bad leader, especially when it’s little more than a tantrum.

A sheriff is an elected position at the county level that is independent of the governor’s authority at the state level. They may be responsible to a county commissioner or similar authority but as an elected official they would not be subject to being fired.

Sheriffs do not work for the governor; they are elected by the voters of the county served and would likely take being convicted of a crime, an investigation where a sheriff has been indicted, or a recall election for removal. There are some states where a sheriff might be removed by a governor’s order but that would also involve the sheriff being under investigation for a criminal offense or similar. Failing such removal, elected sheriffs are there for the rest of their term - and longer if re-elected.

Bad Leadership: Disregarding Subordinates

Elected officials are supposed to represent their constituents. One elected official (governor) made a decision that 3-in-4 elected law enforcement (sheriffs) that also represent constituents say is terrible. When no less than 74 of the 102 members of a team flatly state a decision or rule is so bad they refuse to comply, a wise person would at least reconsider their position rather than make threats.

A law is only as good as the ability to enforce it and these Illinois sheriffs are needed to enforce PICA. Even if the governor could have them fired/removed, who are their replacements and why should they be loyal?

Bad Leadership: Disregarding Precedent/Doctrine

American Criminal Law Review published “Considering Jury Nullification: When May and Should a Jury Reject the Law To Do Justice” from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs.

Nullification of the law can take the forms of non-prosecution, judge or jury nullification, and pardon or amnesty. Jury nullification occurs when jurors, based on their sense of justice, refuse to follow the law and acquit a defendant even when the evidence presented seems to point to an indisputable verdict of guilty.

Nullification is a legitimate result of an appropriate constitutional process safeguarded by judges and the judicial process. Nullification had its American origins in colonial juries which ignored British law to acquit dissidents. Along with civil disobedience, nullification may be seen as an integral feature of the birth of this nation. The group decision-making process inherent in the jury system protects the law from the chaos that would result if each individual could interpret it according to a personal sense of justice. The author concluded that judges should allow nullification without fostering it.

That’s the case with a jury trial involving 12 dissenting jurors choosing a Not Guilty verdict in light of the law itself being unjust. PICA has at least 74 dissenting sheriffs.

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