Opinion 14-18

March 14, 2014

Please Note: At its June 17, 2021 meeting, the Committee reviewed two conflicting lines of opinions and determined that a part-time judge may not serve as a code enforcement officer in any jurisdiction, for the reasons set forth in Opinions 00-04, 03-97, 07-75, 09-31, 09-235 and 17-36, even if alleged code violations do not involve peace officers.  Accordingly, Opinions 08-184 and 14-80 are overruled and Opinion 15-205 is modified to the extent inconsistent with this view. 

Dear :

         This responds to your inquiry (14-18) asking whether it is ethically permissible, now that you are a judge, for you to be employed as a zoning code official in a town 30 miles away from the town in which you preside as town justice.

         The Committee has previously determined that it is ethically permissible for a town justice to serve as a town code officer in a town other than the one in which he/she presides, as long as the town court where the judge presides generally has no jurisdiction to adjudicate code violations committed in the other town.

         Enclosed, for your convenience, is Opinion 08-184 which addresses this issue.

                                       Very truly yours,

George D. Marlow, Assoc. Justice

Appellate Division, First Dept. (Ret.)

Committee Chair

Encl.