Request By:
Mr. Earl Gillespie
Montjoy Street
Falmouth, Kentucky
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
As a former jailer of Pendleton County, you ask whether the office of county jailer is a full time job. In our opinion it is. This is a constitutional office. Section 99, Kentucky Constitution. He executes a bond that he will faithfully discharge his duties. KRS 62.050 and 62.060. He has the custody, rule and charge of the county jail and of all persons lawfully committed to the jail. He must receive, care for, and discharge all persons directed to him by proper authority. He must treat prisoners humanely and furnish them with proper food and lodging. KRS 71.020 and 71.040. From his duties it is reasonably implied that his is a full time job. He or a deputy must be in the jail at all hours in order to supervise the jail operation and maintain security.
It is conceivable that the jailer's engaging in an additional job might constitute a practical or common law incompatibility. However, because of the factual element involved, this would be up to the courts to determine.
The courts might determine in a particular case that, where the jailer has a practical incompatibility in carrying on two jobs and thus cannot perform either in the manner required, the jailer wilfully neglected his office of jailer under KRS 61.170. A conviction for neglect in the discharge of official duties carries with it a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, and the judgment of conviction shall declare the office vacant.