In less than a week, a former Clayton County judge will conduct a historic

hearing featuring the Fayette County Commission and the Fayette County

Sheriff's Department.

"There's no ill will here. I still consider [Sheriff] Randall

[Johnson] a friend," said Fayette County Commission Chairman Greg

Dunn.

In late December, the county filed suit against the department after

the sheriff's office refused to jail a DUI suspect the county's

marshals office arrested.

"We're not asking for anything to change. We just want to know

why after 20 years of incarcerating people, the sheriff has changed his

mind," Dunn said.

The lawsuit stems over the arresting power of the marshals office. County

officials maintain the marshals office is a full-fledged law enforcement

agency. The marshals are state-certified police officers, based on how

they were created back in the 1980s, Dunn contends.

"They (former commission) formed a county police department back

in 1983 because the county's ordinances weren't being enforced,"

Dunn said.

But since the issue first surfaced in August, the sheriff's department

has been maintaining the marshals office does not have arrest capabilities.

The sheriff has said the marshals office cannot operate as a county police

department because the county did not seek voter approval through a referendum

required by Georgia law, but county officials say the marshals department

was a law enforcement agency before that law was passed.

Dunn thinks sheriff's officials are worried about the marshals taking

over more of the sheriff's functions.

"There has never been and never will be an attempt to dismantle

that department. His department always gets more money and personnel,

come budget time," the commission chairman said.

The chairman maintains it would be an easy situation to monitor if the

sheriff's office felt threatened.

"Just look at the budget. The sheriff's department is not being

decreased, while the marshals office is being increased," he said.

All the county is seeking in the lawsuit, he added, is for thing to remain

the same as they have for the last 20 years.

If the judge rules against the county, Dunn is sure the county would

appeal, but also wonders what sort of message it would send to the county's

residents.

"We've already gotten some response from the public about the

marshal not having any powers, and that's not a message that needs

to be sent," he said.