Georgia Supreme Court to hear arguments in the private probation lawsuits The justices will hear oral arguments in the appeals of 13 civil lawsuits filed in Richmond and Columbia counties against Sentinel Offender Services. The litigation begun in 2012 by attorney John “Jack” Long on behalf of people he contends were jailed because they were poor, has resonated throughout Georgia and across the country in states that allow local governments to contract with for-profit probation companies. Since then, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation that would have increased the powers of private probation companies and sealed their records from public inspection. It would have become law this summer but Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed it. The governor’s veto came on the heels of a scathing performance audit that found the same kind of alleged abuses and civil rights violations that are detailed in the civil lawsuits. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts performance audit, and a study by the Human Rights Watch group in February found fault with the practices of private probation companies and a lack of oversight provided by courts. The cases are now before Georgia’s highest court on appeal of a Sept. 16, 2013 order by Augusta Judicial Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Craig. Craig ruled that the [...] geogianews/georgia-supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-in-the-private-probation-lawsuits-7/
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 07:15:50 +0000