Could a Louisiana justice of the peace also work part-time as a school bus driver?

Plain-English summary

A St. Tammany Parish justice of the peace asked whether he could also work part-time for the parish school board as a bus driver. In August 2015, the Attorney General said state dual-officeholding law did not prohibit the pairing. The AG classified the justice’s role as an elective office and the bus-driving job as part-time employment in a different political subdivision.

The opinion read La. R.S. 42:63 as barring certain combinations within the same political subdivision, while the two positions here belonged to separate ones. The AG did not decide whether simultaneous service complied with the Code of Judicial Conduct and directed that question to the Judiciary Commission.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. 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 school bus job itself violate dual-officeholding law?

No. The AG said the part-time employment was in a different political subdivision from the justice-of-the-peace office, so the restriction it examined did not bar both roles.

Did the AG approve the combination under judicial ethics rules?

No. The opinion said those rules fell within the Judiciary Commission’s authority and suggested seeking that commission’s view.

Why did the office treat the bus-driving job differently from the elected seat?

It classified bus driving as part-time local employment and the justice position as a local elective office. That classification drove its application of the dual-officeholding statute.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion cited 13:2582(B) for election of justices of the peace and applied La. R.S. 42:63 to the proposed combination. It stopped at the state dual-officeholding question and left judicial-conduct compliance to the Judiciary Commission.

Citations

• 13:2582(B) (election of justices of the peace).
• La. R.S. 42:63 (dual-officeholding restriction considered).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0094

Original opinion text

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWEll
70804·9005
AnORNEY GENERAL

August 26,2015
OPINION 15-0094

57 JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
Honorable Tim Garlick 78 OFFICERS-Dual Officeholding

Justice of the Peace
La. R.S. 132582: La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.
Ward Two, St Tammany Parish
The provisions 01 the Dual Officeholding and Dual
P.O. Box 814
Employment Law do not prohibit a part-time school bus driver
Folsom, Louisiana 70437
from simultaneously holding the elective office as a justice of
the peace. However, because an elected justice of the peace is governed by the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Judiciary Commission should be consulted for resolution of the issue.
Dear Mr. Garlick:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General wherein you ask if a justice of the peace may also work as a part-time school bus driver for the Sl. Tammany Parish School Board.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, found at La. R.S 42:61 et seq., govern questions concerning the ability to hold two or more public offices and/or positions simultaneously. Classifying the correct nature of the positions held is essential for the purposes of applying the dual officeholding provisions.

Based on the information you provided, the position as a school bus driver for the Sl.
Tammany Parish School Board is classified as part-time' local employment." A justice of the peace "shall be elected at the congressional election for terms of six years by the qualified voters within the territorial limits of their jurisdiction" pursuant to La. R.S.
13:2582(B). Under La. R.S. 42:62(9), a justice of the peace court is defined as a "political subdivision" for purposes of the dual officeholding provisions." Thus, a justice

The dual officeholding law defines "full-time" as "the period of time which a person normally works or is expected to work in an appointive office or employment and which is at least seven hours per day of work and at least thirty-five hours per week of work." La. R.S. 42:62(4).
2 The dual officeholding law 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 politicai subdivision. La. R.S. 42:62(3). This office has previously observed that for purposes of the Dual Officeholding Law, a municipal policer officer is considered to hold a position that is not one which is "specifically established or authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the' charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof ... , and consequently is not an appointive office, but instead should be considered a position of employment. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 94-46.
3 La. R.S. 42:62(9) provides: .
"Political subdivision" means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions. In addition for the purposes of this Part, mayor's court, justice of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors,

Page 2

OPINION 15-0094
Honorable Tim Garlick
Page No.2

of the peace holds elected office in the political subdivision of the justice of the peace ward or district court from which he is elected.

The most applicable section of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law to your situation is La. R.S. 42:63(0), which provides in pertinent part:

No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this stale shall at the same time hold another elective office or full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof. No such person 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....

While La. R.S. 42:63(0) prohibits an elected official from holding employment in the same political subdivision of the state, the statute does not prohibit one from holding an elected office and employment in separate political subdivisions of the state. For this reason, it is the opinion of this office that La. R.S. 42:63(0) does not prohibit you from holding part-time employment as a school bus driver while holding the local elective office of justice of the peace because the offices are held in different political subdivisions.

Please be advised that justices of the peace are governed by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which is within the authority of the JUdiciary Commission. Therefore, we suggest that you contact the Judiciary Commission, 601 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130, phone (504) 568-8299, regarding your inquiry as to whether it would violate the Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct to hold both positions at the same time.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: b
Erin C. Day
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Assistant Attorney General

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registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions.