Does a criminal-defense contract ethically require appointed counsel to represent clients in a civil administrative hearing?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ask about yours and see what the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The committee considered whether a lawyer providing criminal defense under a county contract also had to represent the clients in a civil administrative hearing. It characterized the issue chiefly as one about the scope of the defense contract. Because the contract provided for criminal defense and the hearing was civil, it concluded the lawyer was not ethically obligated to handle that hearing.
The committee said the request also raised political and economic issues beyond its regulatory power. It recommended taking the issue to the county commissioners so they could consider expanding the contract to cover civil-hearing representation. The letter does not decide whether the contract itself imposed some separate contractual obligation.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1987, before North Dakota's 2006 revisions to its Rules of Professional Conduct. The later North Dakota Opinion 06-05 states: “On August 1, 2006, material changes to N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.10(a) will take effect.” Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement.
Common questions
Q: Did the committee find an ethical duty to appear at the civil hearing?
A: No. It said counsel was not ethically obligated to handle the civil proceeding under the criminal-defense contract described.
Q: Did the committee decide whether the county should broaden its contract?
A: No. It recommended asking the county commissioners to consider expanding the contract's scope.
Background and rules framework
The committee distinguished its ethics determination from contract scope and the political and economic issues raised by the request. The letter does not cite a numbered professional-conduct rule.
See also
- ND Ethics Op. 1985-01: City Prosecutor's Criminal Defense Work
- ND Ethics Op. 09-01: City Firm and Indigent Defense Conflict
Source
- Landing page: https://www.sband.org/page/ethics_opinions
- Original PDF: https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000id_/https://www.sband.org/resource/resmgr/docs/for_lawyers/87-05.pdf
Original opinion text
Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.
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