Meetings
 
Agenda Item
Docket No. 13-478
 
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RE:
Advisory opinion request regarding Mr. James Carter's former employment with the City of New Orleans as Commissioner of Criminal Justice and how the post employment restrictions will apply to his law practice as it relates to the City of New Orleans.
Facts:
From May 2011 until September 21, 2012 Mr. Carter held the position Commissioner of Criminal Justice with the City of New Orleans. The position was appointed by the Mayor of New Orleans. As the Commissioner of Criminal Justice Mr. Carter oversaw two divisions - the Department of Human Services and the Department of Criminal Justice. The Department of Human Services had its own Director who reported to Mr. Carter. The youth jail had its own Superintendent who reported to the Director of Human Services.
All of the employees of each of those entities combined, amounted to between fifty and sixty employees, of which Mr. Carter indirectly supervised. As the Head of the Department of Criminal Justice, it was his responsibility to supervise eight to ten employees. Responsibilities dealt exclusively with matters related to overall criminal and juvenile justice programs of the City, including overseeing the criminal justice grants the City received, developing and monitoring criminal justice programs, mediating disputes among criminal justice agencies, attempting to facilitate resolutions among agencies, conferring on funding and grant issues specific to criminal justice matters, conducting research and preparing and presenting reports on criminal justice issues and generally advising the Mayor, the CAO and the criminal justice agencies on matters of crime prevention and enforcement.

The position was initially located in the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Coordination until July 2011. Thereafter it was moved to the Law Department, as an associate city attorney position, until Mr. Carter left in September 2012. In his role as Associate City Attorney, Mr. Carter represented the City on only one issue. It was a Federal Consent Decree involving the Youth Study Center. The Youth Study Center (i.e. Youth Jail) was placed under a Federal Consent Decree after suit was filed regarding conditions and treatment of inmates. Mr. Carter was part of the legal team for the City that worked to make sure the conditions improved and to ensure the City met the benchmarks set out in the Consent Decree.

Currently, Mr. Carter is in the private practice of law in the City of New Orleans.

Law:
Issue No. 1 Applicable Law:

Section 1121A of the Code of Ethics states that no former agency head shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction involving that agency.


"Agency head" means the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.



Section 1121B of the Code of Ethics states that no former public employee for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment shall assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed.



Issue No. 2 Applicable Law:

Section 1121A(1) states that no former agency head, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as head of such agency shall render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.

Section 1121B states that no former public employee shall for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment render any service which such former public employee had rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of the agency with which he was formerly employed.

Recommendations:
Adopt proposed advisory opinion.

Assigned Attorney: Brent Durham
 
 
ATTACHMENTS:
Description:
2013-478 Draft Advisory Opinion
2013-478- Advisory Opinion Request
2013-478 Follow up Email