Opinion ID: 76238
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Corrections

Text: 45 The State also assigns sheriffs specific corrections duties regarding state offenders. The State requires that the sheriff take custody of all inmates in the jail in his county. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-4. The Georgia legislature mandates that [i]t shall be the duty of the sheriff ... [t]o take from the outgoing sheriff custody of the jail and the bodies of such persons as are confined therein and to furnish inmates medical aid, heat, and blankets, to be reimbursed if necessary from the county treasury. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-4(a)(1)-(2). Sheriff Peterson's authority and duty to administer the jail in his jurisdiction flows from the State, not Clinch County. See In re Irvin, 254 Ga. 251, 253, 328 S.E.2d 215 (1985) (It is clear that the legislature has vested broad authority in the office of sheriff to administer the jails.). Sheriffs who refuse to take custody of an inmate may be charged with a misdemeanor. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-12. 46 It is important to outline how the State uses county jails to incarcerate its state offenders and, in turn, requires sheriffs to administer them. To begin with, sheriffs must take custody of inmates arrested and awaiting trial in state superior courts on state felony and misdemeanor charges. 24 No sheriff's approval is required. For example, a City of Homerville police officer arrested plaintiff Manders for felony obstruction of an officer — in violation of state law, O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24(b) — and took Manders to the Clinch County jail. 47 As custodians of pre-trial detainees charged with state felonies, sheriffs transfer inmates to and from the State's superior courts for pre-trial and trial proceedings, as well as attend all sessions of those courts. If a change of venue for the trial is granted by the state trial judge, the sheriff must transport the person to the county to which the change of venue is directed and deliver that person to the sheriff of that county. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-11. 48 Another class of inmates in the county jails are those serving state sentences for felonies. When convicted of a felony offense, the felon by operation of Georgia law is committed to the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC), which determines the place of confinement. O.C.G.A. §§ 42-5-50(b), 42-5-51(b). 25 In at least five situations, convicted felons serve their state sentences in county jails. 49 First, a convicted felon, although in DOC custody, serves his state felony sentence in the county jail pending appeal if his attorney certifies his presence is necessary for the appeal. O.C.G.A. § 42-5-50(c). No sheriff or DOC approval is required. 26 The DOC's regulations even provide that the State will pay for the cost of maintaining felony prisoners in county jails after conviction and sentencing until their appeals are concluded. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. § 125-2-4-.02(d). 27 50 Second, due to prison overcrowding, the DOC has broad discretion to assign convicted felons to serve their state sentences in county jails and to reimburse counties for their incarceration at a daily rate. 28 The state trial court must notify the DOC that a person is convicted of a felony within thirty days. O.C.G.A. § 42-5-50(a). The DOC then has fifteen days to elect to transfer the inmate or to start paying for his incarceration. O.C.G.A. § 42-5-51(c). No sheriff's approval is required. 51 Third, if a convicted felon's state probation is revoked, a state judge has discretion to sentence the felon to serve his state sentence in the county jail in certain circumstances. O.C.G.A. § 17-10-1(a)(3)(A). No sheriff's approval is required. 52 Fourth, convicted felons serving a paroled state sentence, under the DOC's authority, who violate parole may be held in county jails until a state judge formally revokes their state parole. Ga. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 82-33 (1982). No sheriff's approval is required. 53 Fifth, convicted felons in DOC custody may serve their state sentences in county jails if they are participating in a state-sponsored project and the sheriff approves. O.C.G.A. § 42-5-51(d). 54 Yet another class of inmates in county jails are those serving state misdemeanor sentences. If a defendant is convicted of a state misdemeanor offense, the state judge has discretion to sentence the defendant to, among other locations, the county jail. 29 O.C.G.A. § 17-10-3(a)(1)-(3). 55 Because the State uses the statewide network of county jails to incarcerate its felony and misdemeanor offenders, it is not surprising that the State expressly authorizes sheriffs to act beyond their respective counties and to transfer prisoners to the county jails of other sheriffs. 30 In addition to venue changes, the State requires sheriffs to take persons arrested to a jail of another county if the sheriff's county jail is in an unsafe condition. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-4(a)(3). 31 56 The State also permits sheriffs to exercise their discretion to transfer[] a prisoner to another jail in another county if the sheriff concludes that such transfer is in the best interest of the prisoner or that such transfer is necessary for the orderly administration of the jail. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-4(b). In a similar vein, [w]hen there is no secure jail in a county or when it is deemed necessary by the sheriff, any person committing an offense in the county may be sent to a jail in another county determined to be suitable by the sheriff. O.C.G.A. § 17-7-1. 32 57 Given sheriffs' significant corrections role for state offenders, the State further requires sheriffs to keep detailed records of persons committed to county jails. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7. These records include the age, sex, race, under what process such person was committed and from what court the process issued, the crime with which the person was charged, the date of such person's commitment to jail, the day of such person's discharge, under what order such person was discharged, and the court from which the order issued. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7(a). The State mandates that a sheriff or a deputy who fails to comply with these state requirements shall be fined for contempt and subject to removal from office. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-4(c). 58 In sum, these requirements are not state laws of general application but represent the State's managing and controlling where state offenders are incarcerated, designating that certain state offenders serve state time in county jails, and then assigning sheriffs specific corrections duties regarding those state offenders. 33 In contrast, counties have no authority over what corrections duties sheriffs perform, or which state offenders serve time in county jails, or who is in charge of the inmates in the county jails. 34