Special Focus on NIC Jail Legal Issues Workshop: Who Represents the Jail Administrator?

• NCJ Number: 135846
• Journal: Detention Reporter Issue: 93 Dated: (July 1991) Pages: 3-10
• Author(s): J Hager
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at American Jail Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, May 2, 1991

Annotation

This paper examines the issues involved in the legal representation of any jail administrator who is involved in a conflict with the county supervisors or commissioners and is considering hiring an outside attorney.

Abstract

The attorney-client relationship between county counsel and county employees is statutory and not contractual. The county counsel represents the county and does not have a separate attorney-client relationship with individual county employees. The county attorney cannot take a position adverse to a client, disclose information that may damage a client, or accept employment adverse to a former client. A sheriff being sued for jail overcrowding and being informed by the county supervisors of a budget reduction should use care in contemplating declaring a conflict and hiring outside counsel. The negative consequences of declaring a conflict are usually very serious. To avoid conflict situations, the jail administrator should educate county counsel rather than waiting to be sued and obtain county counsel's approval when seeking the advise outside experts and attorneys. Discussion of specific cases