Advisory Opinion No. 2012-33

Advisory Opinion No. 2012-33

Re: William F. Warren, Esq.

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a candidate for the North Providence Town Council, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether, if elected, the Code of Ethics will prohibit him from appearing before the North Providence Municipal Court in his private practice of law.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a candidate for the North Providence Town Council, a municipal elected position, is prohibited by the Code of Ethics from appearing before the North Providence Municipal Court in his private practice of law if he is elected to the Town Council. 

The Petitioner is a candidate for the North Providence Town Council (“Town Council”) in District 2.  He represents that he won his primary election and is running unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.  In his private capacity, he is a practicing attorney in Providence.  The Petitioner seeks advice as to whether, if elected, he can represent clients/motorists before the North Providence Municipal Court (“Municipal Court”).  In North Providence, the Municipal Court Judge is “chosen by the mayor with a confirmation of a majority vote of the town council.” North ProvidenceTown Charter § 26-1-1.  The Town Solicitor is appointed only by the mayor.  North ProvidenceTown Charter § 11-1-1.

The issue here is whether a member of the Town Council can, in his private capacity as an attorney, represent clients before the Municipal Court.  These facts implicate section 5(e) of the Code of Ethics, which prohibits a public official from representing himself or any other person before any state or municipal agency of which he is a member or by which he is employed.  R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(1).  A public official represents another person before a state or municipal agency if he “is authorized by that other person to act, and does in fact act, as the other person’s attorney at law.”  Commission Regulation 36-14-5016(b)(1) (“Regulation 5016”).  Additionally, the Code of Ethics also prohibits a public official from representing himself or others before another agency for which he is the appointing authority.  Regulation 5016(b)(3). 

Here, the Town Council is involved in the appointment process for the Municipal Court Judge because the Town Council is required to confirm, by majority vote, the Mayor’s appointment to the Municipal Court.  See A.O. 2005-51 (opining that the Petitioner, a candidate for the Warwick City Council, who was also an attorney, was prohibited from appearing before the Warwick Zoning Board, if elected to the City Council because the City Council was required to confirm the Mayor’s appointments to the Zoning Board).  Therefore, it is the opinion of the Ethics Commission that the Petitioner may not appear before the Municipal Court in his private capacity as an attorney on behalf of a client if he is elected to the Town Council. 

Code Citations:

§ 36-14-5(e)

Commission Regulation 36-14-5016

Related Advisory Opinions:

A.O. 2005-51

Keywords: 

Acting as Agent

Appointing Authority