Anderson v. Sentinel Offender Servs. LLC

Answering two certified questions, the Court held that tolling is authorized for privately supervised misdemeanor probated sentences under Georgia common law, and the common law rule that allows tolling of misdemeanor probated sentences has not been abrogated by the State-wide Probation Act.

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In Sentinel Offender Services, LLC. v. Glover, we concluded that Georgia’s private probation statutory framework, see OCGA § 42-8-100 et seq., does not allow for the tolling of misdemeanor probationers’ sentences. 296 Ga. 315, 329 3 b 766 SE2d 456 2014 Sentinel I. As we noted in Sentinel I, however, that case provided no occasion to consider whether such tolling might be permissible as a matter of common law, and, if so, whether this tolling doctrine has been abrogated by legislation. Id. at 330, n.5. Now, having been asked by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to address these unanswered questions, we conclude that, as a matter of common law, the mere passage of time does not extinguish an unserved sentence and that the common law principle has not been abrogated by the State-wide Probation Act.1

Richard Lamar Anderson filed a complaint against Sentinel Offender Services, LLC. Sentinel, seeking relief for false arrest, malicious arrest, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment stemming from his arrests for violations of his probation, which had been deemed tolled; Sentinel subsequently moved for summary judgment. Initially, this matter was stayed until this Court announced a decision in Sentinel I, but, following our decision in that case, Sentinel took the position that Anderson’s misdemeanor probation was properly tolled under Georgia common law. The district court concluded that Anderson’s civil action hinges on the question of common-law tolling and certified the following questions to this Court:

Anderson v. Sentinel Offender Servs. LLC

Answering two certified questions, the Court held that tolling is authorized for privately supervised misdemeanor probated sentences under Georgia common law, and the common law rule that allows tolling of misdemeanor probated sentences has not been abrogated by the State-wide Probation Act.

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