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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 15. COURTS · Chapter 16. SHERIFFS · Article 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

15-16-24. Liability for misconduct of jailers.

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Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. Sheriffs are liable for the misconduct of their jailers as they are liable for their deputies; and persons injured by a jailer have the same option in bringing an action on the jailer’s bond that they have in bringing an action on the deputy’s bond, provided that the sheriff shall not be liable for such misconduct and no claim or cause of action against the sheriff for such misconduct shall exist unless one of the following conditions exists:

  2. (1)

    The sheriff personally benefited financially from the act complained of;#

  3. (2)

    The sheriff was personally aware of and had actual knowledge of the act complained of and had actual knowledge that the act was illegal, was contrary to law, or was the breach of a duty imposed by law and either acted to cause or failed to prevent the act complained of; or#

  4. (3)

    The sheriff failed to exercise ordinary care and diligence to prevent the condition or act which proximately caused the injury complained of.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Orig. Code 1863, § 335; Code 1868, § 396; Code 1873, § 360; Code 1882, § 360; Civil Code 1895, § 4379; Civil Code 1910, § 4913; Code 1933, § 24-2812; Ga. L. 1980, p. 493, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 15.

Cross references

Jails generally, § 42-4-1 et seq.

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t15-ch12-24-(v13a)-2015-pdf.pdf, Volume V13A, 2015 edition, pages 287 to 288; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 3ead04cf60ab.