Could the Orleans civil district court clerk contract to provide part-time legal services to a state board?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2004. Ask about yours and see what current Louisiana law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
The Orleans Parish Civil District Court clerk asked whether she could provide part-time legal services to a state board or commission while holding elected office. The AG said yes, because a contract for professional services was not employment under the dual-officeholding law. The provision cited would have barred a local elected official from holding state-government employment, but the contract described did not fall within the statute's employment definition.
The opinion addressed a professional-services contract, not a salaried or per-diem state job. It cited an earlier AG opinion reaching the same result.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2004. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Did the legal-services contract count as state employment?
The AG said no. It applied the statute's employment definition and treated professional-service contracting as outside it.
Could the clerk keep her elected office while doing that work?
The AG said yes for the part-time legal-services contract described in the request.
Did the opinion permit the clerk to take a salaried state job?
No. It quoted a rule barring a local elected official from state-government employment and distinguished the contract from that category.
Background and statutory framework
R.S. 42:63(D) restricted employment held alongside local elective office. R.S. 42:62(3) defined employment as a compensated salary- or per-diem-based job, excluding elective and appointive offices. The AG applied those provisions to the legal contract and cited Attorney General Opinion 91-449.
Citations
- R.S. 42:63(D) (dual officeholding restriction).
- R.S. 42:62(3) (employment definition).
- Attorney General Opinion 91-449 (earlier professional-contract answer).
Source
- Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
- Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/04-0040
Original opinion text
February 25, 2004
OPINION 04-0040
Ms. Dale N. Atkins
Clerk of Civil District Court, Orleans Parish
421 Loyola Avenue, Room 402
New Orleans, LA 70112
Dear Ms. Atkins:
In response to your inquiry of recent date, the law does not prohibit the Clerk of the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans from contracting to provide part-time legal services to a state board or commission.
Of potential concern is R.S. 42:63(D) of the Louisiana Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, R.S. 42:61, et seq., providing in part:
“No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this State shall . .
. . hold at the same time employment in the government of this State, or in the same political subdivision in which he holds an elective office . . . .”
A clerk of court, holding elective office, would be prohibited from holding “employment in the government of this state.” R.S. 42:62(3) defines “employment” as:
“any job compensated on a salary or per diem basis, other than an elective or appointive office in which a person is an employee of the State government or of a political subdivision thereof.”
However, a person who has a contract to provide professional services does not hold “employment” as defined in R.S. 42:62(3) and thus R.S. 42:63(D) is not violated.
We conclude you may continue as clerk of court and contract to perform legal services for a state board or commission. Attached is Attorney General Opinion 91-449, which reaches the same conclusion.
Very truly yours,
CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
KLK:ams
Page 2
OPINION 04-0040
10 CLERKS OF COURT
78 OFFICERS – DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
R.S. 42:63(D); R.S. 42:61, et seq.; R.S. 42:62(3); in R.S. 42:62(3)
State law does not prohibit the Orleans Parish Civil Clerk of Court from contracting with a state board or commission to provide part-time legal services.
Mr. Dale N. Atkins
Clerk of Civil District Court, Orleans Parish
421 Loyola Avenue, Room 402
New Orleans, LA 70112
Date Received: February 5, 2004
Date Released: February 25, 2004
KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
What does Louisiana law say today, for your facts?
This opinion is from 2004. Ezel checks the current Louisiana statutes and case law, applies them to your situation, and cites what it relies on.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace