Oklahoma Sheriff Files Lawsuit Over Inmate Transportation Responsibilities

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma -- Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III has filed a lawsuit seeking a court ruling on whether his office is responsible for transporting inmates from the county jail to court hearings, arguing that the duty belongs to the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority, commonly known as the Jail Trust.

The lawsuit centers on responsibility for inmate transportation following the transfer of jail operations to the Jail Trust. Johnson contends that the authority assumed responsibility for inmate transport when control of the jail was transferred, according to a report from KOCO-TV.

He also argues that a 2023 memorandum of understanding (MOU) requiring the Sheriff's Office to handle inmate transportation was legally terminated and is no longer valid.

Johnson is asking the court to formally declare that the MOU is no longer in effect.

“The Board of County Commissioners is essentially who writes up that contract. What stops commissioners in 77 counties from writing up an indenture, and then telling the sheriff, you have to do this?” Johnson said.

The lawsuit cites Article 4 of the Jail Trust's indenture, which states that courthouse holding and detention facilities, as well as the detention of inmates, are “specifically excepted and not a part of the purposes of this authority.”

“As it was explained to us at the Attorney General’s Office, whatever they put in that indenture, we have to do. I can’t have one of my colleagues telling me I have to do something that’s not statutory, or my obligation,” Johnson said.

Jim Holman, chairman of the Jail Trust, questioned the need for the litigation and said he was surprised by the sheriff’s position.

“The sheriff sits on the Trust; that’s what’s really confounding to me,” Holman said. “To me, it’s unnecessary, and I’m not obviously looking at it through the same lens as the sheriff is, but I don’t understand.”

Holman said the Jail Trust is prohibited from transporting inmates between the jail and courthouse under the authority's governing indenture. He noted that the Board of County Commissioners voted in May not to ratify any amendment that would authorize the Trust to perform inmate transportation duties.

“At our May meeting, the Board of County Commissioners voted not to ratify such a change if we asked for it, so it’s never been voted on by the Trust; we can’t amend it,” Holman said. “If we did move prisoners without amending it, we’d be in violation of the law.”

The dispute highlights a broader operational issue involving jail management, inmate movement and statutory responsibilities between county agencies. Holman said sheriff's offices commonly handle inmate transportation to court proceedings throughout Oklahoma.

“I don’t see how it benefits the county, the residents, the beneficiaries of what we all do, to go against what is a common practice, and that’s the sheriff moving detainees from the jail to the courthouse and back,” Holman said.

Holman also raised concerns about the cost of the litigation, noting that both agencies may need to retain outside legal counsel.

“Both of those entities are going to have to hire outside legal counsel, and they’ll have to do it with taxpayer money,” Holman said.

The Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority's next scheduled meeting is July 13.