State high court says private running of jail constitutional

Friday, January 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the operation of the Tulsa Jail by a private corporation is constitutional. The court said the Legislature had the right to alter a sheriff's duties, which it did when it enacted laws permitting counties to contract with private groups to operate jails. "In enacting the privatization statutes, the Legislature has demonstrated its intent to change the duties of sheriff," the Supreme Court said in an 8-1 opinion.

The court said laws allowing privatization of jails are constitutional. It also said a Tulsa County public trust had the authority to contract with a private company. "I think what it does is just puts county government on notice they have no standing on these issues," said John Walsh, executive director of the Oklahoma Sheriffs Association. The group intervened in the Supreme Court case.

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, one of those challenging the private operation, said he would talk to attorneys before commenting at length. "The big issue was whether they (the state justices) would give us constitutional standing," Glanz told The Daily Oklahoman. "It may take some inmate filing suit before the issue is resolved." Walsh said the court's opinion will affect every county and every county officer, not just sheriffs. If sheriffs' duties are in question, the same thing could happen with other county officers' duties, he said. "Looks like they could privatize the duties of any county officer," he told the newspaper, which reported the Supreme Court's decision in Friday's editions.

Tulsa County's new jail, which opened last year, was built after county voters approved a sales tax increase to construct and operate the jail. County commissioners created the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority, a public trust, to administer the sales tax revenue and the jail's construction and operation. The trust contracted with Corrections Corporation of America to manage and operate the jail. Lawsuits were filed challenging the delegation of jail operations to a private group. Among those suing were Glanz and the Tulsa County Deputy Sheriff's Fraternal Order of Police.