Ala. Code § 14-6-1

Legal Custody and Charge of Jails and Prisoners; Appointment of Jailer

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Section 14-6-1

Legal Custody and Charge of Jails and Prisoners; Appointment of Jailer.

The sheriff has the legal custody and charge of the jail in his or her county and all prisoners committed thereto, except in cases otherwise provided by law. The sheriff may employ persons to carry out his or her duty to operate the jail and supervise the inmates housed therein for whose acts he or she is civilly responsible. Persons so employed by the sheriff shall be acting for and under the direction and supervision of the sheriff and shall be entitled to the same immunities and legal protections granted to the sheriff under the general laws and the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, as long as such conduct is deemed conduct performed within a law enforcement officer’s discretionary authority as defined in Section 6-5-338.1.

(Code 1852, §236; Code 1867, §3784; Code 1876, §4486; Code 1886, §4535; Code 1896, §4946; Code 1907, §7191; Code 1923, §4801; Code 1940, T. 45, §115; Act 2011-685, p. 2067, §1; Act 2025-423, §2.)

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 62 cases (23 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Young v. Myhrer

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Young v. Myhrer (2017) alnd · cites it 38× “On July 1, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit reversed this court’s sovereign immunity ruling adverse to Defendants and remanded this case for a determination in the first instance: 1 [Wjhether the individual defendants are entitled to summary judgment on state sovereign immunity…”

Bonny Edward Taylor v. Henry P. Hughes (2019) ca11 · cites it 5× “The district court dismissed Bonny's claims because of qualified immunity, state-agent immunity, and Alabama Code § 14-6-1. This appeal raises two questions: (1) whether qualified immunity shields the guards from Bonny's deliberate-indifference claim based on the U.”

Hobbs ex rel. Hobbs v. Powell (2015) alnd · cites it 35× “30), based upon the immunity granted to corrections officers working in sheriffs’ jails pursuant to Ala. Code § 14-6-1 , and move to dismiss Count IV of plaintiffs First Amendment to Amended Complaint, (Doc.”

LeFrere v. Quezada (2009) ca11 · cites it 3× “Jailers help carry out the sheriffs statutory duty under Ala.Code § 14-6-1 to maintain the jail and care for prisoners, and they are responsible to the sheriff for their performance of those duties.”

Joe Marsh, Leroy Owens v. Butler County, Alabama, the Butler County Commission (2001) ca11 “ensure that inmates do not come to harm” (citing Ala.Code § 14-6-1)). The authority the Sheriff has over the Jail is totally independent of the county commission; so, the “sheriff acts exclusively for the state rather than for the county in operating a county jail.”

Sawyer v. Collins (2013) ala · cites it 9× “As to the state law claim, Collins and Sanders assert immunity pursuant to Alabama Code § 14-6-1.” Alabama Code 1975, § 14-6-1, provides: “The sheriff has the legal custody and charge of the jail in his or her county and all prisoners committed thereto, except in cases otherwise…”

Irvin v. Shelley (2009) ala · cites it 3× “’ See Ala. Code § 14-6-1 (1975).[ 8 ] Although jailers may not function as an ‘extension’ of the sheriff to the same degree that deputies do, because a jailer cannot undertake every act that the sheriff could perform, cf.”

Parker v. Amerson (1987) ala · cites it 2× “Because a sheriff is a state officer and thus immune from suit, the remaining question is whether § 14-6-1, Ala.Code 1975, which makes a sheriff civilly liable for acts of his jailer, [2] violates Art.”

Kelley v. Burnell (2012) ala · cites it 3× “The legislature amended §§ 14-6-1 and 36-22-3, Ala.Code 1975, effective June 14, 2011.”

Adams v. Franklin (2000) almd · cites it 3× “See Ala.Code §§ 14-6-1,14-6-19 (1975) 11 ; see also Lancaster, 116 F.”

Ronnie Guy Young v. Kimberly Myhrer (2016) ca11 · cites it 4× “2011-685, which amended Ala. Code §§ 14-6-1 & 36-22-3 to provide immunity for jail personnel.”

Barbara Donald v. Tyler Norris (2025) ca11 · cites it 2× “” Ala. Code § 14-6-1 . And this duty includes the process of booking and releasing inmates.”

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