Tuesday, October 09, 2007
SHERIFF OF DORCHESTER COUNTY SHOULD DROP JAIL FEE
The following Editorial in today's Post and Courier pretty well tracks our position. However, we would go further to say that all money should be refunded. We suspect, however, that this dispute will only be resolved after someone files a lawsuit. We never understand why government agencies always seem to seek legal advice after a decision is made rather than before a decision is made.
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Sheriff should drop jail fee
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The attorney general's office has advised Dorchester County state Sen. Randy Scott that it finds no legal basis for a $15 processing fee being charged prisoners at the county jail.
Sheriff Ray Nash has told our reporter he disagrees with the opinion and plans to consult his attorney. Certainly that's his right. But the opinion makes a persuasive case for scrapping the fee that the sheriff should heed.
This isn't the first time the jail fee issue has been raised. In fact, the opinion notes that Greenville Sen. David Thomas attempted to pass a bill in the 2001-2002 legislative year to authorize counties, in consultation with sheriffs, to establish a prisoner reimbursement policy.
That bill was defeated. The defeat said, in effect, that the Legislature didn't intend for the counties to pre-empt state laws that specify what fees may be charged.
In 2003, the office also advised the S.C. Sheriffs' Association that there was no known authority for sheriffs to establish separate fees.
That opinion stated: "...the Legislature has specifically provided for the payment of certain fees and reimbursements by inmates. Also, there are general duties of counties to provide for inmates in specified areas. It appears, therefore, that the state has preempted the manner of fees or reimbursements to be collected from inmates."
Fees that are authorized by the state include the repayment by prisoners for willful damage to or destruction of public property, for medical treatment for injuries inflicted by an inmate upon himself or others, and the expense of searching for and apprehending an escaped inmate.
According to our report, the sheriff has been charging the processing fee for the past several years. Fees go into a separate account and total around $400 per month. The sheriff did say the fee is refunded if a prisoner is found not guilty or the charges are dropped. Sen. Scott is said to have requested the opinion after a man arrested on disorderly conduct charges protested the fee.
County Council Chairman Larry Hargett, who has asked the sheriff to stop charging the fee, is right to be nervous about the possibility of a lawsuit, particularly in view of the attorney general's concerns that there is no legal basis for the fee.
The sheriff should end the unauthorized fee and make his case with the Legislature.
