Advisory Opinion No. 97-97

Re: Mark E. Liberati, Esq.

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a former member of the Jamestown Town Council, a municipal elected official, who served until May 1, 1997, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may immediately appear on behalf of clients of his law firm before the Municipal Court, the Zoning Board, and the Planning Board for the Town of Jamestown, given that the Town Council appointed officials to serve on those entities.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Committee that the Petitioner, a former member of the Jamestown Town Council, a municipal elected position, will not violate the Code of Ethics if he immediately represents clients before the Municipal Court, the Zoning Board and the Planning Board for the Town of Jamestown. Commission Regulation 36-14-5008, which prohibits a member of a Town Council from appearing as an attorney for compensation before an agency over which the Council exercises fiscal or jurisdictional control, no longer applies to the Petitioner since he has severed his position with the Council. Also, the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(4), which prohibit a public official from appearing before his former agency for one year after he has severed his position with the agency, are not applicable here since the Petitioner was not a member or employed by the Municipal Court, the Zoning Board or the Planning Board. While the Petitioner may not represent clients in matters before the Town Council, the agency to which he belonged, the prohibition does not extend to agencies of which he was not a member.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(e)(4)

36-14-5008

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97-73

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89-73

89-36

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Keywords:

Acting as agent

Post-employment

Revolving door