6/20/1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TO: Board of County DATE: June 20;'1986 Cmmi ss i oners SWJECr: Control of County Jail FFM Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney The law in Florida concerning who controls the County jail was succinctly stated by the case of Ba her v. Alachua County, 305 So.2d 838, wherein it was held that: Where a state constitution does not describe.the duties of a Sheriff, he will be deemed to have power usually regarded as belonging to the office, including that of the custody of the common jail and of the prisoners therein... (T)he contrary argument... that the County is ultimately responsible for the operation of the jail is without statutory or decisional authority. In 1981 the 4th District Court of Appeal, which governs Indian River County, held in White v. County of Palm Beach, 404 So.2d 123, that §30.49, F.S. (whit requires the Sheri ff--to-70mit a proposed budget annually showing the -estimated amounts of proposed expenditures for operating and equipping the sheriff's office and jail) is the statutory source of -the Sheriff's duty to operate the jail. _ Backing up these two cases are opinions of the Attorney General in 77-59, 79-44, and 79-49. In light of these rulings by the courts of appeal and the Attorney General, it is my opinion that Ahe operation of the County jail is one of the duties of the constitutional office of Sheriff, and, without some authority authorizing a transfer of this power from the Sheriff to the Board of County Cmmissioners, , is a function which should be performed by the Sheriff. Attorney Vitunac noted that there is no statute which says specifically that the"Sheriff has the primary responsibility for operating the jail, but there many statues which imply that this responsibility lies with the Sheriff. It was his belief that it is the Sheriff's obligation to run the jail just as it is the Clerk's obligation to be recorder for the Board. Commissioner Wodtke noted that it was the liability we were told the Commissioners had personally and collectively for the operation of the jail which led him to reach the decision of saying we needed to have some direct authority in the operation of that facility. However, if Attorney Vitunac is saying it is the statutory responsibility of the Sheriff to run the jail and that liability lies with the Sheriff and not the Commissioners, 5 Jug 2 0 1986 . Boa 64 PAE767