A temporary truce has been

reached in the dispute between the Fayette County Commission and Sheriff

Randall Johnson over prisoners arrested by the county's Marshal's

Office.

The Fayette County Jail is

again accepting prisoners, for now, who have been arrested by county marshals.

In December, jail officials turned away a prisoner brought by a county

marshal for DUI and other traffic charges.

A consent order was reached

between the parties last week to allow marshals prisoners "charged

with or guilty of an indictable offense" to be held at the jail.

But the issue isn't solved,

and both sides intend for it to proceed to trial, according to the consent

order, which was signed by attorneys for both sides. The order was signed

H. Ison, who formerly presided in the Clayton judicial circuit.

Sheriff Johnson had previously

warned the county his department would no longer accept marshals prisoners

because he believes the marshal's office is not operating legally

as a law enforcement agency. Johnson says accepting those prisoners puts

him and the county at a tremendous legal liability for a potential lawsuit.

Although the marshals enforce

county ordinances and patrol county properties, they occasionally arrest

suspects for traffic or other offenses they witness since they are sworn

Georgia peace officers.

Johnson specifically contends

the marshal's office should not have been created without a referendum

Georgia law requires for voter approval to create a "county police

department."

The county commission, which

funds and operates the marshal's office, contends it became a law

enforcement agency before that law went into effect.