united-states criminal-law
Can a court decision be appealed by a sheriff?
<p>A case recently came up in my area of Kentucky in a district court where a man had been convicted of growing and selling marijuana. The sheriff had drove by his residence on a hot day and smelled marijuana emanating from the man's property. The sheriff was able to narrow the location down to a mobile home which was on the man's property. The sheriff then obtained a search warrant to search the mobile home for marijuana, with the smell of marijuana being probable cause. Upon conducting the search, the sheriff found 154 marijuana plants and several firearms in the man's possession. The man is a convicted felon, so they were also seized. When the case went to court, the case was dismissed. The judge said that the smell of marijuana was not probable cause to have issued a search warrant. If the prosecutor will not ask for an appeal of the court's decision, can the sheriff ask for an appeal himself?</p>

<p>Generally, no. The party to the action will be the State (commonwealth). The prosecutor acts as the agent of the state. The sheriff is not a party and cannot appeal.</p>
