Could a Louisiana clerk of court reimburse his criminal-defense attorney fees from office funds after the charges were dismissed?

Plain-English summary

Tangipahoa Parish's clerk of court asked whether his office could repay the $2,000 in attorney fees he said he had personally spent defending allegations about office expenditures. According to the clerk's account, the district attorney announced that the case was dismissed and no further action would be taken. The AG concluded that office funds could reimburse the necessary and reasonable defense fees because the alleged offenses arose from the clerk's official duties and the charges had been dismissed.

The opinion described the office's earlier position on investigations or prosecutions tied to official functions: when a public official or employee is exonerated, or a prosecution ends in acquittal, dismissal, or quashing, public funds may cover reasonable defense fees and related expenses. The AG applied that position to the facts as the clerk represented them. It did not decide whether any particular bill was reasonable.

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.

Historical summary

Clerks of court and other local officials

The AG treated the clerk's defense as arising from the official functions of his office. Dismissal of the charges brought the request within the AG's stated rule allowing public reimbursement of reasonable attorney fees. The conclusion depended on the clerk's account that the charges had been dismissed.

Officials handling office funds

The opinion limited the permissible payment to fees that were necessary and reasonable. It said the clerk's office funds could be used for that reimbursement, rather than requiring the clerk to bear the fees he had paid personally.

Common questions

Could the clerk's office repay his defense attorney after the charges were dismissed?

Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. The AG said office funds could reimburse necessary and reasonable fees for defending charges arising from the clerk's official duties.

Did the opinion approve the full $2,000 the clerk reported paying?

The AG did not assess a bill or set an amount. It required the reimbursed fees to be necessary and reasonable.

Would reimbursement have been allowed if the charges were unrelated to official duties?

The AG's rule concerned charges arising from official functions. The opinion did not answer a request involving unrelated conduct.

Background and references

The clerk described an unfavorable audit report, a grand-jury presentation about office expenditures, and the district attorney's announcement that the case was dismissed. The AG cited its prior Opinions 99-180, 97-117, 96-95, 94-384, 93-376, 91-474, 89-110, 85-822, and 79-349 for its reimbursement rule. The opinion cited no statute or judicial case.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/04-0133

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

~tah of 1J1tui13iana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
70804·9005
ATIORNEY GENERAL

JUN 022004
Opinion Number 04-0133

10 Clerks of Court
46-A Fees & Costs
90-A-1 Public Funds & Contracts
Honorable John J. Dahmer
Clerk of Court
Clerk of Court may use public funds of his office to pay
Parish of Tangipahoa
reasonable attorney's fees incurred in defense of criminal
charges arising out of the official functions of his office, as
P. O. Box 667
charges have been dismissed.
Amite, Louisiana 70442

This office is in receipt of your opinion request regarding the reimbursement of attorney's fees in the defense of criminal charges from the public funds of the Clerk of Court's office. It is our understanding that as a result of an unfavorable Audit Report, the Tangipahoa District Attorney presented evidence against you alleging the illegality of certain expenditures of the funds of your office to the Grand Jury. According to your letter:

"Eight (8) of the nine (9) voted to return a no true bill and one (1) juror voted to return a true bill. Because there were only nine (9) jurors this caused the return to be pretermitted. Scott Perrilloux, the District Attorney, publicly announced the case was being dismissed and no further action was being taken... 1 had to hire legal representation and expended the sum of $2,000.00 in legal fees which I personally paid.. 'would you please give your opinion on the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk's Office reimbursing me for the legal expenses."

This office has consistently opined that if a local public official or employee has been the subject of an investigation and/or prosecution of criminal charges arising out of the performance of the official functions of his office or employment, and the official or employee is exonerated, or the prosecution results in acquittal or dismissal or is quashed, the puollc official or employee's attorney's fees may be paid or reimbursed from public funds, provided the fees and related expenses are reasonable. See Attorney General Opinion Nos. 99-180, 97-117, 96-95, 94-384, 93-376, 91-474, 89-110, 85-822 and 79-349.

Accordingly, based upon your representation that the alleged offenses arose out of the performance of your official duties as the Clerk of Court and that the charges have now been dismissed, it is the opinion of this office that the public funds of the Clerk of Court's office may be used to reimburse you for the necessary and reasonable attorney's fees you incurred in the defense of criminal charges brought against you.

Page 2

Opinion Number 04-0133
Honorable John J, Dahmer
Clerk of Court, Tangipahoa Parish
Page -2­

We hope the foregoing sufficiently answers your inquiry. Should you need assistance in
other areas of the law, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

B .
E GUE BARHAM
Y General

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