Michael Leslie Lake v. Michael SkeltonMichael Leslie Lake v. Michael Skelton
Lead Opinion
This interlocutory appeal requires us to decide whether sovereign' immunity bars a complaint for damages against a deputy sheriff who failed to accommodate a dietary request from an inmate in a county jail in Georgia. Michael Leslie Lake requested a vegetarian diet for religious reasons during his pretrial detention. After his jailers denied the request, Lake sued Major Michael Skelton in his official capacity as a deputy sheriff of Cobb County. Lake sought declaratory relief, damages, fees, and costs for violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
I. BACKGROUND
Lake, a Christian, alleges that he made a religious vow in 1997 to abstain from eating meat, animal fats, or gelatin. He also refuses to eat any part of a meal that contains those items or to trade those items for acceptable food. Lake took the vow because he thought it would gain him the friendship of a woman named Leslie.
On November 28,2011, Lake was arrested for contacting Leslie, allegedly in violation of a stalking protective order. He was held without bond at the Cobb County
Lake requested a special diet to accommodate his religious vow, but the jailers denied that request, In May 2012, Lake sued Major Skelton. The jailers accommodated Lake’s request on November 29, 2012. Lake was released on July 15, 2013, after the Cobb County Superior Court dismissed all charges against him.
Lake sued Major Skelton in his official and individual capacities. He alleged that Skelton violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Lake sought declaratory relief, damages, fees, and costs.
Major Skelton moved for summary judgment. The district court granted summary judgment for Skelton, in his individual capacity, but it denied summary judgment for him in his official capacity on the ground that the sovereign immunity of Georgia did not extend to him. Skelton filed an interlocutory appeal, and we have jurisdiction limited to the issue of his immunity, see Black v. Wigington,
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review de novo a summary judgment, including the issue whether the sovereign immunity of a statе extends to an official. Purcell ex rel. Estate of Morgan v. Toombs County,
III. DISCUSSION
A state is immune from a suit for damages in federal court by one of its own citizens, Hans v. Louisiana,
Manders applied the four-factor test to decide whether the sheriff of Clinch County, Georgia, was acting as an arm of the state in “establishing force policy at the jail and in training and disciplining his deputies in that regard.” Id. at 1319. The first factor “weighted] heavily in favor of immunity” because “[t]he sheriffs authority to use force or the tools of violence ... and the sheriffs obligation to administer the jail are directly derived frоm the State” and because “use of force and creating force policy are quintessential policing functions.” Id. The second factor also “weighted] heavily in favor of immunity,” id. at 1322, because, “[i]n addition to mandating and controlling sheriffs’ specific duties ..., only the State possesses control over sheriffs’ force policy and that control is direct and significant in many areas, including training and discipline,” id. at 1320. The third factor “tilt[ed] ... toward immunity,” id. at 1324, because the state partially funded the sheriffs office and the financial contributions of the county were required by state law, id. at 1323-24. The fourth factor “d[id] not defeat immunity,” id. at 1329, because although neither the state nor the county was required to pay an adverse judgment, the sheriff apparently would have to pay out of his budget and “both county and state funds are implicated,” id. at 1327. The Court also stated that “the State’s sovereignty and thus its integrity remain directly affected when federal court lawsuits interfere with a state program or function.” Id. at 1329. We concluded that the sheriff of Clinch County, Georgia, was immune from a suit for damages that challenged his policy on the use of force. Id. at 1328.
A. Governmental Structure
We must apply the four-part test from Manders to the function performed by Major Skelton as a deputy sheriff. Whether a deputy sheriff in Georgia is an arm of the state is complicated. On the one hand, the offices of sheriff and deputy are created by state law, see
Georgia exerts significant control over the Cobb County Sheriff. The office of the sheriff, although independent, is not a “body corporate” like Georgiа counties are. See
Georgia uses county jails to incarcerate its state offenders, and it requires sheriffs to take custody of all inmates in the jail in their counties and to administer the jails. Manders,
The Georgia Constitution prohibits counties from taking actions “affecting” the office of the sheriff, including “the salaries ... [and] the personnel thereof.”
The independence of sheriffs from the county is underscored by the treatment of sheriffs’ employees. The office of the sheriff has sole authority to appoint and discharge its employees, including deputies. Manders,
The Cobb County Sheriff derives his powers from the State and, with the exception of funding, is largely independent of the county. Although this framework informs our analysis by providing evidence of “the governmental structure of [the sheriffs] office vis-a-vis the State,” id. at 1309, all we need to decide today is whether Major Skelton acted as an arm of the State in the function of providing food to inmates.
B. The Factors from Manders
The factors from Manders weigh in favor of immunity for Major Skelton. The first three factors—definition in state law, control under state law, and the source of funds—favor immunity. And the fourth factor—responsibility for judgments— “does not defeat immunity.” Id. at 1329.
1. How State Law Defines the Function
We explained in Manders that “the essential governmental 'nature of [a sheriffs] office” includes “performfing] specific statutory duties, directly assigned by the State, in law enforcement, in state courts, and in corrections.” Id. at 1319. One of those duties is taking custody of inmates in the county jail. See id. at 1315;
Another such responsibility is the function of providing food to inmates, which title 42 of the Georgia Code imposes directly on the sheriff. See
a.
Chapter 4 of title 42 governs “municipal [and] county jail[s] used for the detention of persons, charged with or convicted of either a felony, a misdemeanor, or a municipal offense.”
b.Section 42-5-2
Chapter 5 of title 42 also supports our conclusion that the provision of food is a state function. Although chapter 5 regulates “correctional institutions of state and counties,” Ga. Code Ann. tit. 42, ch. 5, its provisions are devoted in part to allocating responsibilities between correctional institutions and jails, see, e.g., id. §§ 42-5-51; 42-5-2; see also City of Atlanta v. Mitcham,
c.
To the extent that doubt remains about the source of the sheriffs responsibility
Caselaw interpreting
Our dissenting colleague argues that the Georgia Court of Appeals has long construed
The Georgia Court of Appeals has never construed
d. Deputy Sheriffs
A deputy’s functions are derived from the sheriffs functions, so the deputy’s performance of this function is also a state function. Georgia law allows sheriffs “in their discretion to appoint one or more deputies.”
2. Where State Law Vests Control
Georgia law vests control over the denial of Lake’s dietary request in the state through the law on feeding inmates in county jails- and the law on training and disciplining deputies. State law regulates food preparation and food service in the jail. It guarantees inmates “not less than two substantial and wholesome meals daily,”
Lake dismisses
That
Lake also argues that the county controls the function of feeding inmates because it pays for the food, but this funding does not establish control. As we have explained, “The Georgia Supreme Court has held that counties ‘must provide reasonably sufficient funds to allow the sheriff to discharge his legal duties,’ and that ‘the county commission may not dictate to the sheriff how that budget will be spent in the exercise of his duties.’ ” Manders,
Lake next argues that the food-service contracts signed by the county, the sheriff, and the food vendors appear to give the county some control, but these contracts do not affect our analysis of where state law vests control. We acknowledge that Manders referred vaguely to the “degree of control the State ’maintains over the entity,” id. at 1309, and to counties not having control, see id. at 1321, 1322, 1328. But the en banc Court specifically defined the factor as “examining] where Georgia law vests control,” id. at 1320 (emphasis added), and we applied it consistent with that definition, see id. at 1320-22. For the reasons already discussed, Georgia law vests control over feeding inmates in the state.
The training and discipline of deputies provides further evidence of control by the state. The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council,’ a state entity, can discipline deputy sheriffs for misconduct by reprimanding them or by limiting, suspending, or rеvoking their certification as peace officers. Pellitteri,
3. Source of Funds
The third factor is the source of funding for the function at issue. We concluded in Manders that when the county is required to pay by state law and the state provides some funding, this factor “tilt[s] ... toward immunity.” Id. at 1324. The application of this factor in this appeal is indistinguishable
4, Responsibility for Adverse Judgments
The fourth factor looks to “the source of the funds that will pay any adverse judgment.” Id. at 1324. In Georgia, counties are not liable for judgments against the sheriff in his official capacity, id. at 1326, and no law requires the state to pay an adverse judgment against a sheriff in his official capacity, id. at 1327. Instead, the sheriff “apparently would have to pay any adverse federal court judgment against him in his official capacity out of the budget of the sheriffs office,” which “implicate[s]” “both county and state funds.” Id. But as we explained in Manders, the Supreme Court has “[njever ... required an actual drain on the state treasury as a per se condition” of sovereign immunity. Id. And “the State’s sovereignty and thus its integrity remain directly affected when federal court lawsuits interfere with a state program or function.” Id. at 1329. For these reasоns, we concluded that, “[a]t a minimum; this final factor does not defeat immunity.” Id.
As with the third factor, the application of the fourth factor in this appeal is resolved by Manders. The sheriff apparently would pay for an adverse judgment against Major Skelton out of the sheriffs budget, but regardless of the effect on state finances, “an actual drain on the state treasury” is not required for immunity to apply under Manders. Id. at 1327. Under Manders, “this final factor does not defeat immunity.” Id. at 1329.
C. Skelton Is Entitled to Sovereign Immunity.
Overall, the factors from Manders favor immunity. The first two factors strongly favor immunity: a deputy sheriff derives his powers and obligations from the sheriff, and “[s]heriffs’ duties and functions are derived directly from the State, performed for- the State, and controlled by the State.” Id. at 1328. The third factor slightly favors immunity for the reasons stated in Man-ders, see id. and the fourth factor- “does not defeat immunity” for the reasons stated in Manders, id. at 1329.
We acknowledge that we reserved judgment in Manders about a “case of feeding ... inmates, which necessarily occur[s] within the jail,” Id. at 1319. But we also observed that Georgia law “regulates the рreparation, service, and number of meals,” which we called “evidence of how the duties of sheriffs in Georgia are governed by the State and not by county governing bodies.” Id. at 1317 n.30. To the extent that our dissenting colleague suggests that this appeal should be decided based on “the Eleventh Amendment’s twin reasons for being,” Diss. Op. at 1350 (quoting Hess v. Port Auth. Trans-Hudson Corp.,
IV. CONCLUSION
We REVERSE the denial of summary judgment against Lake’s claims for dam
Notes
. In each of the cases cited to show that
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
In Manders v. Lee, this Court, applying a four part test, held that a Georgia sheriff acts as an arm of the State and is therefore entitled to Eleventh-Amendment immunity when he establishes use-of-force policy at the county jail and trains and disciplines his deputies in that regard.
Notwithstanding those admonitions, the majority holds that a Georgia deputy sheriff acts on behalf of the State and is thus immune from liability for failing to provide food to inmates in the county jail. The majority reaches that conclusion based largely on its view that
The first factor under Manders asks how state law defines the entity with respect to the particular function. Id. at 1319. In Manders, the Court concluded that Georgia law defines the sheriff as a state actor with respect to force policy in the county jail because his authority to use force and his obligation to administer the jail “are directly derived from the state and not delegated through the county entity.” Id. “While we must consider context,” the Court continued, the fact that the actiоns took place within the county jail did not “automatically transmute” them into county functions because they involved “quintessential policing function[s]” that extended beyond the jail:
[I]n administering the jail, the sheriff does not check his arrest powers or force authority at the door. Instead, he and his deputies bring them into the jail and exercise them in the jail setting. This case is not a case of feeding, clothing, or providing medical care to inmates, which necessarily occur within the jail. Instead, it involves Sheriff Peterson’s force policy, which happens to be at issue in the jail context in. this particular case.
Id. (emphasis added). The first factor thus weighed heavily in favor of immunity. Id.
Here, the particular function is the 'provision of food to inmates in the county jail. As noted, that function is addressed in
Although the Manders court had no occasion to resolve whether Georgia law defines the sheriff as a state or county actor with respect to the provision of food to county jail inmates, the answer is apparent from its focus on delegation and context. Unlike the force policy, the responsibility of providing food falls directly on the county as the entity having physical custody over the inmates. While the sheriff is responsible for carrying that function out, he does so on the county’s behalf as the county jailer, pursuant to a delegation of its responsibilities. See
The majority appears to recognize that
The majority offers two additional grounds for concluding that the first factor favors immunity, neither of which, in my view, is sufficient to overcome the force of the text of
The majority also observes that “counties lack supervisory authority and ‘delegate no powers or duties to sheriffs,’ ” and that'Georgia courts have interpreted
In sum, because the task of providing food to inmates in the county’s physical custody is assigned by statute to the county and is generally limited to the county jail, and because the alternative sourcеs of state law do not clearly indicate that the sheriff acts for the State, I would hold that state law defines the function of providing food to inmates in the county’s custody as a county function. Accordingly, I would find that the first factor weighs heavily against immunity.
Turning to the second factor—where state law vests control with respect to the particular function—I agree with the majority that the State’s requirement in
The third factor is the source of funding for the particular function at issue. In Manders, the Court observed that “[t]he State funds the annual training of sheriffs” and it was “reasonable to assume that such training includes instruction on force policy and hiring and training deputies.”
The majority determines that the application of the third factor is “indistinguish
The fourth factor asks what is the source of the funds that would pay for an adverse judgment. The majority, following Manders, concludes that “[a]t a minimum, this final factor does not defeat immunity,” because although the State is not directly responsible for a judgment against the sheriff, any decrease in the sheriffs budget would indirectly impact both state and county funds, and “the State’s sovereignty and thus its integrity remain directly affected when federal court lawsuits interfere with a state program or function.” Maj. Op. at 1344 (quoting Manders,
Moreover, the Manders court itself ultimately relied nоt on the indirect-impact theory, but on the fact that lawsuits based on the sheriffs force policy would offend the State’s dignity by interfering with what was, according to the remaining factors, a state function. See
To recapitulate, the first Manders factor weighs heavily against immunity. The third and possibly fourth point in the same direction. And while, the second factor favors immunity, it is of limited relevance where the factors conflict. I would accordingly hold that a Georgia deputy sheriff is not entitled to immunity for failing to provide food to inmates in the county jail. This should come as little surprise, given the Manders court’s repeated observation that the provision of food, clothing, and medical care are materially different for purposes of immunity from the force policy functions.
To the extent that the Manders factors are not conclusive, however, “the Eleventh Amendment’s twin reasons for being remain our prime guide,” Hess,
The second purpose of immunity, which is the “most important,” is to prevent federal-court judgments that would necessarily be paid out of the State’s treasury absent consent to suit. Hess,
For all of these reasons, I would hold that a Georgia deputy sheriff is not entitled to immunity from liability for failing to provide food to inmates at the county jail, and I would affirm the decision of the district court. I therefore respectfully dissent.
. I say almost exclusively because the Georgia courts have held that a person may be an “inmate” in the physical custody of the county even though he was not physically in the
. For the same reason, I fail to see the relevance of the principle of Georgia law that the . powers of county commissioners are .to be strictly limited and construed. See Maj. Oр. at 1342. The question for purposes of the first factor is not whether the county has authority or control over the sheriff’s actions, but whether it bears responsibility for them.
. I acknowledge that here, as in Manders, the State pays "for certain state offenders as- ' signed to county jails under the sheriff’s supervision.”
. The extent of the majority's discussion on these statements is to "acknowledge that we reserved judgment in Manders about 'a 'сase of feeding inmates, which necessarily occurs within the jail,’ ” but note that "we also observed that Georgia law ‘regulates the preparation, service, and number of meals,’ which we called 'evidence of how the duties of sheriffs in Georgia are governed by the State and not by county governing bodies.’ ’’ Maj. Op. at 1344 (quoting Manders,