Release Held past my Max release date

Charlie B

Charlie B

New Member
Jurisdiction
Georgia
I was held 17 days past my maximum release date because my county kept sending in the wrong information for dates I was held in county before being shipped to prison. Do I have any recourse?
 
Charlie B said:
If I were to pursue it, how would I start? Do you know of any cases I could site in Georgia that would support my case?
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All I have right now is my paperwork where I went back and forth telling them they had the wrong dates.
As they were releasing me the lady told me that I had to be released that day because Ga law said they had to pay me a certain amount per day I was held beyond my maximum release date. Thanks.
 
Charlie B said:
I don't know what I'm missing. I'm sure you've seen this.Why doesn't this apply?
18 U.S. Code § 3624 - Release of a prisoner
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Were you held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons?

If yes, then your contention is that the county provided the incorrect information, which means that the county is the one who created the problem and the county is the entity you would need to sue.

EDIT: If you weren't held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, then the section of the US Code that you sited doesn't apply, but what I said about the county being responsible still would apply.
 
It was a state prison holding me because the county sent the wrong information about how long I served in county detention.
So I need to find a state statute or a county statute saying the same thing?
 
Zigner said:
What specific statute do you believe the county violated, and are they specifically liable to suit under some statute?
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The federal Constitution provides a guarantee that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It also provides that a person may not be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment. The OP was deprived of his liberty for 17 days beyond his maximum release date, which is a violation of his rights under the U.S. Constitution, as either a due process violation or a violation of his right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment (the courts differ as to which right is violated by the continued imprisonment, but ultimately the same analysis applies either way so the distinction does not much matter). A federal district court in Florida, which is in the same federal appeals Circuit as Georgia, explained:

It has been clearly established in this Circuit for a long time that an inmate may not be held in prison beyond the end of his sentence. Whirl v. Kern, 407 F.2d 781 (5th Cir.1968), cert. denied 396 U.S. 901, 90 S.Ct. 210, 24 L.Ed.2d 177 (1969)(upholding liability under § 1983 against a jailer for continuing a prisoner's incarceration for nine months); Cannon v. Macon County, 1 F.3d 1558, 1563 (11th Cir.1993) (denying qualified immunity defense and finding there was a clearly established right under the Fourteenth Amendment to not be falsely imprisoned); Douthit v. Jones, 619 F.2d 527 (5th Cir.1980) (holding thirty day detention beyond the expiration of a sentence "constitutes a deprivation of due process."). These case clearly establish an inmate's right to be released when he has served his period of incarceration.​

McCurry v. Moore, 242 F. Supp. 2d 1167, 1182 (N.D. Fla. 2002). That illegal confinement may then give rise to a claim for money damages under federal law against the county and/or the individual officials responsible for the delayed release. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Indeed, the court went on to note:

Defendants' final argument is that Plaintiff has not shown proof of "actual constitutional injury" and is not entitled to monetary damages. In Cannon, the plaintiff successfully litigated her § 1983 claim that she was falsely imprisoned for seven days and was awarded a jury verdict of $50,000.00. Defendants' motion for summary judgment on this basis should be denied.​

Id at 1183. The federal constitution and federal law of course supercede state law, so the state statute you cited would not be a barrier to a § 1983 claim. There may well be a remedy under state law, too, though I've not researched Georgia state law on that.

That said, there are several hurdles a plaintiff has get over to win any significant award of damages in these kinds of claims. Here, one issue that immediately comes to mind is what ultimate impact the delay had given that the effect was to delay the OP in being transferred to state prison. Will the time spent in county get counted towards his state time? If so and his ultimate release from prison will be the same regardless of the extra time spent in county then that's going to be a problem. So it's certainly not a slam dunk for the OP here, but there may be something for the OP to pursue. We don't have nearly enough details to say one way or the other.

Charlie B — these are not simple cases and not something that you can litigate in small claims court. You really need to consult a lawyer who litigates civil rights claims to see whether you have a good case to pursue. Most lawyers will give you a free initial consultation. Note that federal law does allow the court to award you attorney's fees in addition to the judgment you get should you win.
 

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