Opinion 08-145

October 5, 2008

Dear Mr. :

         This responds to your inquiry (08-145) in which you ask whether, if you decide to run for judicial office, it is ethically permissible to hold office as a part-time village justice while continuing your existing full-time employment as a Public Safety Advocate with the county Sheriff’s Department.

         Given that you work for the administrative division of the Sheriff’s Department, which has no connection to the police division; that you have no law enforcement duties or oversight, and that, because the village is served primarily by its own local police force, the Sheriff’s Department rarely issues any tickets or appears in the court where you may seek office, this Committee finds no ethical prohibition to the dual employment you describe. However, you would be disqualified from presiding in any case involving the Sheriff’s Department, and if the disqualifications became too frequent, you would be required to resign from one position or the other.

         Please refer to Joint Opinion 08-58/08-66 and Opinion 91-149, enclosed for your convenience, which address this issue.  

                                                 Very truly yours,

                                                 George D. Marlow,

                                                 Justice of the Supreme Court

                                                 Committee Chair

Encls.