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Local Government And Constitutional Torts: In The Georgia Courts, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The concept of governmental immunity from civil responsibility has long troubled many. An ingredient of this country's common law heritage, the concept nevertheless yields the epitome in philosophic faceoffs. On the one hand, we inherently disavow governmental divinity: we subscribe to a rule-of-law demand that government restores what it destroys. On the other hand, we recognize that government's essential mission is unique and involuntary: we understand that a strictly private-sector accounting may well imperil government's public performance. Traditionally, neither position has completely prevailed, and legal history unfolds a striking account of accommodation.

None of the accounts is more striking than …

Local Government Law, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The world of local government is a place of remarkable occurrences:

At the meeting of the governing authority, the chambers were overflowing, passions were palpable, and the media descended in droves. The vote was taken on the re-zoning petition. The council's vote was evenly split. The newly elected Mayor would have to break the tie. He announced to all that he did not know how he should vote. He then proceeded to toss a coin into the air, explaining that if it was "heads," he would vote "yes," and if it was "tails," he would vote "no." As if in …