Allegations listed in the divorce complaint filed and then withdrawn by Heather DeWees, the elected clerk of the Carroll County Circuit Court, against her husband, elected Carroll County Sheriff James T. “Jim” DeWees, have raised ethics questions.
The divorce record, filed in late October and withdrawn Thursday, accused the sheriff of being a “prolific adulterer” who “slept with” deputies and staff in the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, which Jim DeWees supervises. The sheriff previously told The Sun that the allegations are “ridiculous and unsubstantiated.”
Nancy Modesitt, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law who specializes in employment law, said if there were any romantic relationships between Jim DeWees and his staff in the Sheriff’s Office, there would be a clear ethical problem.
Although there’s no law against such relationships, the power dynamic between a manager and his employees makes it impossible to determine whether the relationship is consensual, Modessit said.
“There’s always a concern about coercion” with such relationships, Modesitt said. “It’s a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.”
Office relationships in general are so problematic that some companies even require all employees to disclose if they’re romantically involved with a co-worker, she said.
“It really does undercut the normal operating procedures,” Modesitt said, adding that “usually government ethical rules are stricter than what you see in the private sector.”
In an ideal world, employees wouldn’t get into any romantic relationships in the workplace at all, said Joe Farrell, a philosophy professor at Loyola University Maryland who focuses on Ethical Theory, Medical Ethics, and Business Ethics.
He referenced the case of Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis being removed from the state’s 2020 election interference case over concerns that she was romantically involved with the lead lawyer in the case.
The removal had nothing to do with the quality of prosecution, Farrell said. It “just looks bad.”
With any workplace relationship, ”very often nothing but bad things can happen,” Farrell said. “It becomes a distraction from everything.”
The position of sheriff is defined in the state’s constitution, but the constitution doesn’t explicitly outline expected conduct of a Maryland sheriff.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office code of conduct, signed in 2023 by Jim DeWees, notes that “members shall maintain a level of moral conduct in his/her personal affairs, which is in keeping with the highest standards of the law enforcement profession.”
Heather DeWees, who filed the divorce complaint on Oct. 23, then withdrew it Thursday, is the elected clerk of the circuit court for Carroll County. In that role, she serves as the official recordkeeper and administrative manager for the court, handling nonjudicial functions such as managing public records, issuing wedding and business licenses, and administering oaths. She is responsible for maintaining the integrity and efficiency of the court system by managing case files, preparing dockets, and handling all paperwork related to civil, criminal, and other court actions.
Several documents in her own divorce filing had Heather DeWees’ signature as Clerk of the Court. In addition, when Jim DeWees tried to seal parts of the divorce complaint Nov. 2, saying that the “allegations are unsubstantiated and only serve to harm the individuals named without due process,” one day later, Heather DeWees struck the request to seal the records because of a technicality: It did not include a required certificate of service, she wrote.
In the Maryland Judiciary’s employee code of conduct, it notes: “Employees also must report instances in which they, in the performance of their job duties, are, or may become, directly involved in judicial matters involving a family member.”
The judiciary declined to comment on the DeWees case.
Heather DeWees’ attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
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