Taylor can retain jailer’s job while under indictment

Even though Jerry F. Taylor has been indicted by a grand jury, he will continue to serve as Whitley County Jailer for the foreseeable future.
Whitley County Attorney Paul Winchester said Taylor being indicted doesn’t change his status as the county’s elected jailer, and that could only change upon a felony conviction, a conviction for malfeasance of office, or after the election next year if Taylor were voted out of office.
“Until he is convicted – the statute requires conviction – it doesn’t really affect our situation at all,” Winchester said.
A recent case involving an official convicted in a federal vote fraud case resulted in a court ruling allowing the official to keep his office until all his appeals were exhausted.
“The best I can remember, the court ruled that while an appeal was still going, it was not a final conviction and he was allowed to keep his office through the appeal even,” Winchester said.
The Whitley County Jail has been closed since late July after Department of Corrections Commissioner John Rees got a Franklin Circuit Court order to close the facility based upon a number of reasons, including Taylor’s management of the facility.
The fiscal court voted last month to ask Taylor to serve as a court bailiff since the jail is currently closed. State law calls for the jailer to serve as a transportation officer or as court bailiff to collect his salary if the county doesn’t have a jail.
The fiscal court has named Sheriff Lawrence Hodge as the county’s transportation officer.
“Those responsibilities are by statute. The fiscal court doesn’t order him. It is a statutorily defined duty. Event though they voted he is required to do those things whether the court takes any action or not is my opinion as set out in the statutes,” Winchester said.
Because of illness Taylor hasn’t been serving as a court bailiff though.
Winchester said the fiscal court’s efforts to get Taylor to serve as a bailiff are probably a mute point now.
“I don’t think the judges would allow someone under indictment to serve as a bailiff,” Winchester said.
Winchester said he doesn’t think judges not allowing Taylor to work as a bailiff in the courtroom would prevent Taylor from continuing to draw his salary either.
While the grand jury was meeting in special session last week in Whitley County, Taylor and his attorneys were arguing before Franklin Circuit Judge William E. Graham asking that the restraining order, which forced the jail to close, be lifted.
Graham delayed making a ruling on the motion for 30 days.
Winchester and Judge-Executive Mike Patrick issued a press release Thursday morning noting that it was the duty of the attorney filing the motion to notify all parties named in the case, and that neither official received notice of the hearing.
“The notice should include a copy of the motion setting forth the relief requested as well as the date, time and place to be heard,” the press release noted. “For some unexplainable reason, the attorney representing the jailer failed to send Whitley County any notice. As a result, Whitley County did not attend the proceeding and the judge was unable to conduct a formal hearing.
“The judge advised that all parties should try to reach an agreement to reopen the Whitley County Jail. If no agreement could be reached after the expiration of 30 days, the jailer may refile his motion provided that all parties were properly notified.”