| Troopers pass bar, barred from practicing |
 |
| Written by APB Staff |
|
Some might suggest that the inherent conflicts of interest faced by a practicing attorney who is also a police officer might make that combo unrealistic. But if that’s the case, what are New Jersey State troopers that passed the bar supposed to do with their new skills? Troopers in New Jersey say they were encouraged by superiors to pursue law degrees. The troopers were even reimbursed for their law school tuition by the state. And now they’re just spinning their wheels, according to a recent article in the Star Ledger newspaper. State troopers who want to moonlight as attorneys are prohibited from practicing law as long as they work for the state of New Jersey. Now the troopers are suing in federal court to reverse the recent policy change. The state is seeking to get the lawsuit dismissed by arguing that troopers are law enforcement officers whose objectivity could be compromised if they were also advocates for clients in a court of law. The state also says troopers are police officers 24 hours a day and are never really off duty. Two troopers’ unions say the state is inappropriately interfering with the troopers’ right to pursue another profession when not on the job. The policy change directly affects about 60 state troopers who are also attorneys.But union officials also say the rule has the potential to open the door to further restrictions on other off-duty jobs. “Plaintiffs have a right to hold specific private employment and to follow a chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference as both a liberty and property right under the 14th Amendment,” Hackensack attorney Michael Bukosky wrote in the complaint. The conflict between New Jersey and her State Troopers stems from a revision of the state’s ethics code in 2007, in which every state agency was required to apply the new provisions to its employees. The New Jersey State Police is a division of the Department of Law and Public Safety, overseen by Attorney General Anne Milgram. The previous code prohibited all attorneys in the department, with very few exceptions, from practicing law outside their job, but the new code extended that prohibition to state troopers. “The State Police have wide-ranging investigatory and law enforcement powers throughout the State. They, like other police officers, must be available for duty 24 hours a day,” Assistant Attorney General Robert Stoloff argued in his written response. “When they represent a private client as an attorney, they owe a duty of loyalty to that client that could interfere with their faithfulness to their responsibilities as State Trooper.” Then there is the fact that state troopers have access to clients of the trooper – other lawyers might feel they have a special advantage. subscribeAdd this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
