Can a full-time Tangipahoa Parish deputy sheriff also serve as an elected constable?

Plain-English summary

The attorney general was asked whether a full-time Tangipahoa Parish deputy sheriff could also serve as an elected constable for a justice-of-the-peace court. The office said no. It classified the deputy position as a full-time appointive office created under state law and the constable position as an elective office. La. R.S. 42:63(D) barred holding an elective office together with a full-time appointive office, even when the positions belonged to separate political subdivisions.

The request and opinion header identify the constable office as Ward 6. One sentence in the conclusion instead says Ward 1. The legal analysis concerns the same full-time deputy and elected constable combination; the opinion does not explain the ward-number discrepancy. It also expressly left possible Ethics Code questions to the Louisiana State Board of Ethics.

What this means for you

Full-time deputy sheriffs

The opinion said a full-time Tangipahoa deputy sheriff could not simultaneously hold the elected constable office described. Treating the sheriff and justice-of-the-peace court as separate subdivisions did not change the statutory bar on an elected office paired with a full-time appointive one.

Constable candidates

The opinion classified an elected constable as holding elective office. It contrasted a separate part-time appointive office, which the particular dual-officeholding restriction it analyzed did not bar alongside an elective office in another subdivision.

Sheriff offices

The office classified the deputy role as a full-time appointive office based on the facts supplied. Its answer did not resolve Ethics Code issues, which it referred to the Board of Ethics.

Common questions

Q: May a full-time deputy sheriff also be an elected constable?
A: The attorney general said no for the Tangipahoa Parish positions described. The elected constable role could not be combined with the full-time appointive deputy office under La. R.S. 42:63(D).

Q: Does it matter that the sheriff and justice court are separate subdivisions?
A: Not for this full-time combination. The opinion said both were separate subdivisions, but the statute still barred an elective office together with a full-time appointive office.

Q: Did the attorney general decide whether ethics rules also prohibit the combination?
A: No. The opinion limited itself to dual-officeholding law and referred Ethics Code questions to the state Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The Tangipahoa sheriff was authorized to hire deputies, and the opinion treated this deputy position as a full-time appointive office. La. R.S. 13:2583 provided for the election of constables by voters within the relevant justice-court territory. La. R.S. 42:63(D) prohibited a local elective officer from simultaneously holding a full-time appointive office in a political subdivision. The office applied that prohibition despite the distinct political-subdivision status of the sheriff and justice court.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 13:2583 (elected constable office)
• La. R.S. 42:63(D) (elective and full-time appointive office restriction)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0048

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DERRTMEXT OF JLSTICE
OFvIc’E OF TFIE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON RoLE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 6, 2024
OPINION 24-0048

Mr. Phillip Ridder
78 Dual Officeholding
I 2295 Hwy. 1 064
La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.
,
La. Const. art. 5, § 27
Tickfaw, LA 70466 La. COP. Art. 331 . La. R.S. 13:2583

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit a full-time Deputy Sheriff for Tangipahoa Parish from serving as the Constable of the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa A
D ear ivr. iuer.
R-” •
Parish, Ward 6

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a full-time Deputy Sheriff for Tangipahoa Parish may serve as the Constable of the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa Parish, Ward 6.

Pursuant to La. Const. art. X, § 22, the legislature has enacted laws regulating dual employment and defining, regulating, and prohibiting dual office holding in state and local government. 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 and Dual Employment Law.

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff is an elected public official, who is authorized to hire deputies as necessary.1 The position of Deputy Sheriff is specifically established by the laws of the state.2 According to the information provided to this office, the position of Deputy Sheriff is full time which is classified as a “full time” “appointive office” for purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.3

1 La. Const. art. V, § 27 and La. C.C.P. Art. 331.
2 La. R.S. 13:5537.
3 “Full time” means 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). “Appointive office” means any office in any branch of government or other position on an agency board, or commission, or any executive office of any agency, board, commission or department which is specifically established or specifically authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof and which is filled by appointment or election by an elected or appointed public official or by a governmental body composed of such officials of this state or of a political subdivision thereof. La. R.S. 42:62(2).

Page 2

OPINION 24-0048
Mr. Phillip Ridder
Page 2

The Constable of the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa Parish, Ward 6 is elected by the qualified voters within the territorial limits of the justice of the peace court pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 13:2583. The Constable of the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa Parish, Ward 6 holds an “elective office” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.4

The Sheriff of Tangipahoa Parish and the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa Parish, Ward 6 are considered separate political subdivisions of the state for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employr?ient Law.5

The most applicable provision of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law is La. R.S. 42:63(D), which provides:

No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this state 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. In addition, no sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court shall hold any office or employment under a parish governing authority, nor shall any member of any parish governing authority or school board hold any office or employment with any sheriff, assessor or clerk of court.

La. R.S. 42:63(D) prohibits holding an elective office in a political subdivision and holding a full-time appointive office in a separate political subdivision. However, La. R.S. 42:63(D) does not prohibit holding an elective office in a political subdivision and holding a part-time appointive office in a separate political subdivision.

Based on the applicable provisions of law and the information you provided, it is the opinion of this office that the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit a full-time Deputy Sheriff for Tangipahoa Parish from serving as the Constable of the Justice of the Peace Court for Tangipahoa Parish, Ward I.

4 “Elective office” means any position which is established or authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof, which is not a political party office, and which is filled by vote of the citizens for this state or of a political subdivision thereof. La. R.S. 42:62(1). “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 courts, justice of peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions. La. R.S. 42:62(9).

Page 3

OPINION 24-0048
Mr. Phillip Ridder
Page 3

Please note that our expressed opinion is limited to an examination of the state laws relating to Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment. Further, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1 111, et seq. Advisory rulings addressing questions under the Ethics Code are within the jurisdiction of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. The Board may be contacted at the following address: P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, phone: 225-21 9-5600.

We hope that this opinion adequately addresses 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,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:__
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

LM:MSC