Question Submitted by: The Honorable Steve Bashore, Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 7

Summary

This Oklahoma Attorney General Opinion addresses whether a county sheriff may transport a county jail inmate across state lines for medical treatment. It concludes that, absent an agreement with the other state, the sheriff's custodial authority ends at Oklahoma's border, and that transporting the inmate to an in-state facility generally would not create state tort or federal civil-rights liability solely because a comparable out-of-state facility is closer. The opinion further concludes that the Oklahoma Legislature may authorize interstate transport, subject to inmate consent under the Oklahoma Constitution and an agreement extending custodial authority into the other state.

Holdings

1. Because a county sheriff's custodial authority over a county-jail inmate derives from Oklahoma law and does not extend beyond Oklahoma's borders, a sheriff cannot transport an inmate across state lines for medical treatment absent an agreement or other consent from the destination state.
2. The Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act exempts sheriffs from state tort liability arising from the operation of jails, including medical care provided to inmates; therefore, absent additional facts, a sheriff would be exempt from state tort liability for transporting an inmate to an in-state facility rather than a comparable, closer out-of-state facility.
3. A sheriff's decision, standing alone, to transport an inmate to an in-state medical facility instead of a comparable but closer out-of-state facility is unlikely to establish deliberate indifference under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, assuming the sheriff acts promptly and reasonably in all other respects; liability remains fact-dependent.
4. The Oklahoma Constitution does not generally prohibit the Legislature from authorizing county sheriffs to transport inmates across state lines for medical treatment, but Article II, section 29 requires the inmate's consent or due process, and Oklahoma legislation alone cannot extend the sheriff's custodial authority into another state.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a county sheriff may transport a county-jail inmate across state lines for medical treatment when the closest appropriate facility is in another state.
2. Whether a sheriff may be liable under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act or 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for transporting an inmate to an in-state medical facility instead of a closer or better-equipped out-of-state facility.
3. Whether the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits legislation authorizing a sheriff to transport a county-jail inmate across state lines for medical treatment.

Disposition

other