Opinion ID: 77779
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims against the County and the Board

Text: The AR, AL, and CR Groups assert § 1983 claims against the County and the Board in Counts 3, 7, and 11 of the Complaint, respectively. Plaintiffs allege the County and the Board had ultimate authority over the Jail, failed to adequately fund and staff the Jail and the County's criminal justice network, and failed to train the Sheriffs and their staff. According to Plaintiffs, the County and the Board have authority to maintain and operate facilities for the detention, incarceration or confinement of all persons subject to confinement under the laws of the state, any county resolution, or any city ordinance. They claim the County exercised its authority when it built the current Jail. According to Plaintiffs, the Board has the power to designate the person who controls the County's incarceration facilities, and the Board has designated the sheriff as the person who operates and controls the Jail. Plaintiffs allege, therefore, that the Board, not the sheriff, has ultimate control over the Jail. Plaintiffs also allege the County, through the Board, sets the budget for the Jail; administers the Fulton County Civil Service System, which governs all county employees, including deputies, Records Room staff, and other Jail staff; maintains a unified pension system for all county employees, including the sheriff and the sheriff's staff; and supervises the sheriff's duties to hire, discipline, and fire Jail employees, as well as the sheriff's duties to formulate, implement, and execute policies concerning the operation of the Fulton County Jail facilities subject to the authority of the Board. Lastly, Plaintiffs allege the Board controls and operates the Fulton County Police Department, which transports the individuals it arrests to the Jail for confinement. Plaintiffs allege the County and the Board knew or should have known of the illegal strip searches at the Jail and were deliberately indifferent to the rights of Plaintiffs to be free from such strip searches. Plaintiffs claim the County's and the Board's deliberate indifference was the motivating factor of Plaintiffs' injuries.