Last November the voters elected a new town council, and to celebrate the victors invited their local congressman to administer the oath of office. Several months later some pedant pointed out that North Carolina law doesn’t permit congressmen to administer oaths of office, and so the new board had not legally qualified for office. The […]
Posts Tagged ‘public officers’
Wearing Several Hats: Multiple and Ex Officio Office-Holding
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010In an earlier blog, I discussed the meaning of “public office.” As promised, I will now examine multiple and ex officio office-holding.
What’s a “Public Office”?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010What’s a “Public Office”? I am often asked to explain what it means to hold a public office. The questioner is sometimes trying to decide whether a particular person must take an oath, which is required of public office-holders. Or, the person may be trying to determine whether certain positions may be held simultaneously under North Carolina’s […]
Board Members as Employees
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010The governing board of a small town believes that it would be advantageous to hire the mayor as a part-time town administrator. Is this legal? In some cases, it is. There are two main legal prohibitions that would generally bar a local government board member from being employed by his or her unit of government. […]
Lame Ducks and Members-Elect: What Can They Do After the Election and Before Swearing In?
Thursday, November 5th, 2009The elections are over, but there’s still some time before new members will be sworn in. Questions arise about what the roles and rights are of both the outgoing “lame duck” members, and the members-elect. Is it legal, and if so, it is appropriate, for lame duck members to make significant decisions, such as hiring […]
City and County Attorneys as Public Officers – Possible Downsides
Friday, September 18th, 2009Last week I discussed a possible advantage of considering city or county attorneys as public officers – the governing board’s ability to hold a closed session to consider an attorney’s qualifications, character, performance, and so on. This week I want to discuss a couple of possible disadvantages – to having a firm designated as county […]
City and County Attorneys as Public Officers – a Possible Upside
Friday, September 11th, 2009In last week’s blog post, I discussed the status under the public records law of records kept in his or her law office by a local government attorney who serves on a contract basis, rather than as an employee. I noted that one of the rationales given by the Court of Appeals, in the Kitty […]
Client-Related Records and the Public Records Law
Friday, September 4th, 2009When local governments retain attorneys who are in private practice, when are records held by the attorneys subject to the public records law and therefore open to public inspection? The court of appeals has ruled on this issue in a case involving attorneys representing a city, but one rationale given by the court would extend […]