Jordan v. City of Rome

1. I concur in the first two divisions but not in all that is written in them. Sovereign immunity is a defense rather than an inroad on one of the elements of a tort. Since it is not invoked here, the first question is whether the defendants owed a legal duty to plaintiffs.

The 1983 Constitution of Georgia provides the foundation for such a duty in its second paragraph: “Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete.” Art. I, Sec. I, Par. II. Whether a duty to Patricia Jordan arose from the circumstances conveyed to the police,…