Governmental Immunity Defenses as Applied to a Georgia Sheriff   Tags: advanced_legal_research  

This web research guide assists the governmental/municipal defendant wade through the slurry of immunity defenses available to government actors/entities for both federal and state law claims, told from the view of a Georgia sheriff.  Eleventh Amendment, qualified, and sovereign immunities are discussed.

Eleventh Amendment immunity is provided to both sheriffs and sheriff's deputies, as they are but "alter egos" of the sheriff.  The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution not only extends immunity to states but to "state agents and state instrumentalities" as well.  While the immunity does not extend to counties, it does extend to sheriffs and deputies because they are charged with carrying out and enforcing the laws of the state.

Qualified immunity protects sheriffs from federal law claims in their individual capacities so long as they were acting within their discretionary authority and did not violate clearly established law.

Sovereign immunity protects sheriffs from state law claims in their official capacities and can only be waived by a legislative act.

Official immunity protects sheriffs from state law claims in their individual capacities where the sheriffl has engaged in discretionary acts that are within the scope of his or her authority, and the official has not acted in a wilful or wanton manner; with actual malice; or with the actual intent to cause injury.

Taylor Hensel is in his last semester at Georgia State University College of Law.  He also works as a paralegal (and will transition to attorney after graduation) at Buckley Brown, P.C., a small litigation firm with a focus on defending counties and county officials in suits of all varieties.  Prior to law school, Taylor received his Bachelor of Arts in English in 2004 from the University of Georgia.  He's worked for Timothy J. Buckley III, Esq., defending county defendants since 2005.

For the purposes of this research guide, assume that the sheriff of a Georgia county has been sued by a county jail inmate under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for constitutional violations.  Coupled with this claim are several state law claims.  The Sheriff now has the responsibility of showing the Court that he is immune from suit.

The materials appearing on this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. The information contained in this website is not intended to create, and the receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between Buckley Brown, P.C., and the user or browser. Users of this website should not act upon the information provided here without seeking the advice of an attorney. This research guide is a starting point for a law student or an attorney to research the the issue of governmental immunity in Georgia. It is highly recommended to Shepardize or KeyCite all cases and statutes before relying on them. If you need further assistance in researching this topic or have specific legal questions, please contact a reference librarian in the Georgia State University College of Law library or consult an attorney.