Leach v. Malcom
Leach v. Malcom
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from the dismissal of a petition for a writ of mandamus. In 2007, Christopher Leach was convicted of child molestation, and he was sentenced to imprisonment for five years, followed by five years on probation. As a condition of his probation, Leach was forbidden to change his residence without the consent of his probation officer, and so, after Leach was released from prison in 2012, he asked his probation officer for her consent to his living in a mobile home in Walton County. The mobile home is located, however, on a farm that apparently is within 1,000 feet of a school, and the probation officer refused to consent to Leach living there. Leach sought a writ of mandamus to compel his probation officer to give her consent, but the trial court dismissed the petition, finding, among other things, that Leach has other adequate legal remedies. We affirm.
Mandamus is available only to those without another adequate remedy at law. Humphrey v. Owens, 289 Ga. 721, 722 (715 SE2d 119)
Judgment affirmed.
Leach claims that he has a legal right to live in the mobile home because he meets the requirements of OCGA § 42-1-16 (e) (2). His probation officer does not dispute that he meets these statutory requirements, but she responds that she is not required to consent to his living in the mobile home just because his living there would not violate the statutory limits on the places in which convicted sex offenders can reside. We need not decide in this case whether Leach has a clear legal right to live in the mobile home, and we offer no opinion on that question.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LEACH v. MALCOM
- Status
- Published