Pennsylvania courts, federal courts, and the legislature have repeatedly affirmed the authority and accountability of constables as law enforcement officers. The materials below are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance on specific legal questions.
528 Pa. 460, 598 A.2d 985 — Pennsylvania Supreme Court — 1991
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that constables are executive-branch law enforcement officers and that judicial supervision of their peace-officer functions violates the separation of powers; the only lawful disciplinary mechanism is statutory removal under 13 P.S. § 31. In its analysis, the Court used the clarifying language quoted below.
"The constable is a police officer."
Later cases (Taylor 1996; Wiggs 2025 panel) read this language in context rather than as a blanket equivalence rule. The holding is the executive-branch classification.
No. 10-836 — U.S. District Court, W.D. Pa. — 2012
A federal court held that a Pennsylvania constable exercising arrest authority acts under color of state law and is subject to constitutional accountability — the same standard applied to municipal police officers.
Memorandum opinion not available in CourtListener; the docket is on PACER (W.D. Pa. 2:10-cv-00836).
173 A.3d 1162 — Pennsylvania Supreme Court — 2017
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reaffirmed that constables are members of the executive branch because their function is law enforcement.
Constables' "function is law enforcement."
No. 1203 MDA 2018 — Pennsylvania Superior Court — 2019
A Pennsylvania appellate court held that constables retain common law arrest authority for breaches of the peace that predates and supplements their statutory powers.
221 F. Supp. 2d 552 — U.S. District Court, E.D. Pa. (Brody, J.) — 2002
Applying In re Act 147 of 1990, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania observed that constables are executive-branch peace officers, that judicial supervision of their peace-officer functions violates separation of powers, and that statutory removal under 13 P.S. § 31 is the only lawful disciplinary mechanism.
Various dockets — Philadelphia courts — 2018–2022
Across five or more separate proceedings — impersonation charges, firearms charges, and emergency lights — every charge against Constable Wiggs was dismissed, quashed, or resulted in a not-guilty verdict. A Court of Common Pleas ordered PSP to return Wiggs's marked police vehicle and both of his firearms.
641 MDA 2023 — Pennsylvania Superior Court — Feb. 6, 2025 (en banc reargument PENDING)
A 3-judge panel ruled 2-1 on whether constables may equip their vehicles with emergency lights. The dissenting judge captured the mechanism: a legislature that authorizes constables to direct traffic cannot deny them the lights that allow motorists to recognize that authority. The full Superior Court has granted reargument. This matter is pending and the panel decision is not final.
Read the opinion (Stabile dissent featured) ›
We highlight the dissent because it captures the constable's position correctly. The full Superior Court has granted en banc reargument; both the panel majority and dissent stand only as panel-level views.
CP-46-SA-0000254-2023 — Montgomery County C.P. (summary appeal) — Nov. 20, 2023
Constable Douglas Filson was tried de novo on summary appeal before Hon. Virgil B. Walker on charges under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3112(a)(3)(i) (failure to stop at red signal) and 75 Pa.C.S. § 4571(d) (display improper lights). The court entered a Not Guilty verdict on both counts. Originating docket: MJ-38123-TR-0000235-2023 (Whitemarsh Township).
General Constable Powers and Authority
The core statutory grant: warrantless arrest for felonies and breaches of the peace, warrant execution, civil process service, prisoner transport, courthouse security, election duties, and traffic direction.
Traffic Direction
Names constables alongside police officers and sheriffs: no person may willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of a uniformed constable.
Concealed Carry Exemption
Explicitly exempts constables from the requirement to obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm in performance of their duties.
Peace Officer Definition
Includes any person with a duty to maintain public order or make arrests — constables satisfy this definition on plain text.
Act 227, P.L. 361, May 2, 1905
When Pennsylvania created the State Police, the legislature granted them "the powers and prerogatives conferred by law upon...constables of this Commonwealth." Constable authority is the original statutory baseline from which the State Police derives.
Philadelphia Police Powers
Philadelphia police hold "all the powers conferred by law upon constables of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Constable power is the foundation, not a derivative, of Philadelphia's police authority.
Case summaries and statute references on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Pennsylvania attorney for guidance on specific legal questions. External links are to authoritative public sources where the full text of each opinion or statute can be read; the linked sites are not affiliated with constablesmatter.org.