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RK

Rick Knighton

Wed, Jan 4, 2023 8:57 PM

Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality?

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality? Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

ML

Matt Love

Fri, Jan 6, 2023 4:21 PM

Rick,

My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a
part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public
offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around
the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6.

Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that
position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there
are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal
Judge is a public officer. *See *2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG
opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the
opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your
question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office
holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City
and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality.

Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to
a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and
as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that
would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a
Municipal Judge.

I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in
back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking
the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the
Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other
professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be
Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the
employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a
person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are
public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a
person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a
little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot
delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise
discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority.
A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's
sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial
authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court
would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that
8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues.

I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people
out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more
than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a
dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that
a Municipal Judge is a public officer.

Matt

On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama oama@lists.imla.org
wrote:

Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a
part-time municipal court judge for another municipality?

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman

201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070

' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | + rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ
www.normanok.gov

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman,
Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the
attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended
only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not
waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually
receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named
recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the
communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in
error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

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Rick, My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6. Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. *See *2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality. Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge. I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues. I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. Matt On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org> wrote: > Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a > part-time municipal court judge for another municipality? > > > > Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman > > 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 > > ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | + rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ > www.normanok.gov > > > > > > This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, > Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the > attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended > only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not > waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually > receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named > recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named > recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the > communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in > error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. > > > -- > Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org >

AM

Amanda Mullins

Fri, Jun 2, 2023 5:21 PM

Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition?

Amanda Mullins

The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC
401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533
Chickasha, OK 73023

T (405) 224-0237
amanda@amullinslaw.com mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com

Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

From: Matt Love matt.love@gmail.com
Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM
To: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Rick,

My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6.

Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality.

Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge.

I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues.

I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer.

Matt

On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> wrote:
Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality?

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

--
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Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition? Amanda Mullins The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC 401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533 Chickasha, OK 73023 T (405) 224-0237 amanda@amullinslaw.com<mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com> Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message. From: Matt Love <matt.love@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Rick, My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6. Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality. Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge. I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues. I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. Matt On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> wrote: Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality? Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. -- Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama-leave@lists.imla.org>

RK

Rick Knighton

Fri, Jun 2, 2023 5:29 PM

Yes. Its SB 462 signed by Stitt on May 22, 2023. But it only exempts municipal judges in courts not of record.

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Amanda Mullins Amanda@amullinslaw.com
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2023 12:21 PM
To: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : RE: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition?

Amanda Mullins

The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC
401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533
Chickasha, OK 73023

T (405) 224-0237
amanda@amullinslaw.com mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com

Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

From: Matt Love <matt.love@gmail.com mailto:matt.love@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM
To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov mailto:Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov>
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Rick,

My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6.

Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality.

Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge.

I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues.

I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer.

Matt

On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> wrote:
Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality?

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

--
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Yes. Its SB 462 signed by Stitt on May 22, 2023. But it only exempts municipal judges in courts not of record. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Amanda Mullins <Amanda@amullinslaw.com> Sent: Friday, June 02, 2023 12:21 PM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : RE: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition? Amanda Mullins The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC 401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533 Chickasha, OK 73023 T (405) 224-0237 amanda@amullinslaw.com<mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com> Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message. From: Matt Love <matt.love@gmail.com<mailto:matt.love@gmail.com>> Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov>> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Rick, My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6. Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality. Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge. I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues. I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. Matt On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> wrote: Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality? Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. -- Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama-leave@lists.imla.org>

MR

Mark Ramsey

Sun, Jun 4, 2023 8:32 PM

Here is the Bill. Good Luck!

Mark H. Ramsey
For the Firm
Taylor, Foster, Mallett,
Downs, Ramsey & Russell, P.C.
P.O. Box 309
Claremore, OK 74018
918-343-4100
918-343-4900 fax
mramsey@soonerlaw.com mailto:apixley@soonerlaw.com
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission (including any accompanying attachments) is intended solely for its authorized recipient(s), and may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, or responsible for delivering some or all of this transmission to an intended recipient, you have received this transmission in error and are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading, copying, printing, distributing or disclosing any of the information contained in it. In that event, please contact us immediately by telephone (918) 343-4100 or by electronic mail at postmaster@soonerlaw.com mailto:postmaster@soonerlaw.com and delete the original and all copies of this transmission (including any attachments) without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you.

From: Rick Knighton via Oama oama@lists.imla.org
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 12:30 PM
To: 'Amanda Mullins' Amanda@amullinslaw.com
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Yes. Its SB 462 signed by Stitt on May 22, 2023. But it only exempts municipal judges in courts not of record.

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman
201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070
' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ www.normanok.gov https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,uM_mymrOKoasXUoiBWLDU-18Ea3hKzlcgGxk5B-eLUz6mw4eqt4LW2BAzbV-Q_cVGcFM0RhVLKIOsoA60GEj1ehpoJno6dkcLhd4uXM5z-0Pav7RFoyKwd4,&typo=1

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Amanda Mullins <Amanda@amullinslaw.com mailto:Amanda@amullinslaw.com>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2023 12:21 PM
To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov mailto:Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov>
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : RE: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition?

Amanda Mullins

The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC
401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533
Chickasha, OK 73023

T (405) 224-0237
amanda@amullinslaw.com mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com

Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

From: Matt Love <matt.love@gmail.com mailto:matt.love@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM
To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov mailto:Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov>
Cc: oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges

Rick,

My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6.

Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality.

Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge.

I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues.

I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer.

Matt

On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> wrote:
Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality?

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman
201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070
' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ www.normanok.gov https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,XngI2YCT54rYPXDUKzTmJKPnIk5V2gD2KNDmf2NosCgLVhbxA2oqIwj4Ru3RcZU-sWj7fXUSm7hqKJpcj0ZzQTtGgknuu6ATAy0QsQQtqWmbAg,,&typo=1

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

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Here is the Bill. Good Luck! Mark H. Ramsey For the Firm Taylor, Foster, Mallett, Downs, Ramsey & Russell, P.C. P.O. Box 309 Claremore, OK 74018 918-343-4100 918-343-4900 fax mramsey@soonerlaw.com<mailto:apixley@soonerlaw.com> The information contained in this electronic mail transmission (including any accompanying attachments) is intended solely for its authorized recipient(s), and may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, or responsible for delivering some or all of this transmission to an intended recipient, you have received this transmission in error and are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading, copying, printing, distributing or disclosing any of the information contained in it. In that event, please contact us immediately by telephone (918) 343-4100 or by electronic mail at postmaster@soonerlaw.com<mailto:postmaster@soonerlaw.com> and delete the original and all copies of this transmission (including any attachments) without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you. From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org> Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 12:30 PM To: 'Amanda Mullins' <Amanda@amullinslaw.com> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Yes. Its SB 462 signed by Stitt on May 22, 2023. But it only exempts municipal judges in courts not of record. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,uM_mymrOKoasXUoiBWLDU-18Ea3hKzlcgGxk5B-eLUz6mw4eqt4LW2BAzbV-Q_cVGcFM0RhVLKIOsoA60GEj1ehpoJno6dkcLhd4uXM5z-0Pav7RFoyKwd4,&typo=1> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Amanda Mullins <Amanda@amullinslaw.com<mailto:Amanda@amullinslaw.com>> Sent: Friday, June 02, 2023 12:21 PM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov<mailto:Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov>> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : RE: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Has anyone heard anything about new legislation that exempts municipal judges from the dual office holding prohibition? Amanda Mullins The Law Firm of Amanda Mullins PLLC 401 W Chickasha Ave., Suite 405 | P.O. Box 533 Chickasha, OK 73023 T (405) 224-0237 amanda@amullinslaw.com<mailto:amanda@amullinslaw.com> Note: Privileged/Confidential information may be contained in this message and may be subject to legal privilege. Access to this e-mail by anyone other than the intended is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents) or take any action in reliance on it. In such case, you should destroy this message, and notify us immediately. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail or telephone and delete the e-mail from any computer. If you or your employer does not consent to internet e-mail messages of this kind, please notify us immediately. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail. As our company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or attachments we recommend that you subject these to your virus checking procedures prior to use. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message. From: Matt Love <matt.love@gmail.com<mailto:matt.love@gmail.com>> Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 10:22 AM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:Rick.Knighton@normanok.gov>> Cc: oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: Municipal Court Judges Rick, My opinion - a City Councilmember at one City could not serve as a part-time Municipal Judge at another City since both positions are public offices and there is no exception I can think of that would get you around the general prohibition in 51 O.S. 6. Clearly a City Council seat is a public office and the person holding that position is a public officer. While there's no Court case on point, there are numerous AG opinions that have reached the conclusion that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. See 2018 OK AG 11, P4 (citing 7 prior AG opinions concluding that a Municipal Judge is a public officer). One of the opinions cited in that 2018 AG opinion is almost directly on point to your question. 1977 OK AG 179 concluded that there would be a dual office holding violation if a person was both a Planning Commissioner at one City and an associate Municipal Judge at another Municipality. Section 6 contains one exception to the general prohibition that relates to a Municipal Judge - (A)(25) authorizes a person to serve as both an ADA and as a Municipal Judge. But that's the only exception I can think of that would allow for dual office holding where one of the public offices was a Municipal Judge. I don't think 11 O.S. 8-115(B) helps on this. They added that language in back in 2007 to try to combat some IRS enforcement where the IRS was taking the position that City Attorneys had to be treated like an employee. So the Legislature added a presumption that attorneys, engineers and other professionals who work on a contract or retainer basis are presumed to be Independent Contractors. But by its terms 8-115 only relates to the employee vs. independent contractor distinction, and does not address a person's status as a public officer. We know that not all employees are public officers and that not all public officers are employees. Can a person hold a public office on an independent contractor basis? That's a little dicey. There's ample authority out there that says we cannot delegate or transfer to a third party the authority to exercise discretionary power that involves the exercise of our sovereign authority. A Municipal Judge has discretionary authority to exercise the City's sovereign judicial authority. I don't think the sovereign judicial authority can be delegated to a true third party. My best guess - a Court would find that a Judge is still a public officer of the City, and that 8-115(B) relates to wage and hour and other employment law issues. I'm very mindful that, if I'm right, then there are probably several people out there who are serving as part-time, contract Municipal Judges for more than one City/Town. If they are holding public offices, then you'd have a dual office holding issue. But I can't think of a way around the fact that a Municipal Judge is a public officer. Matt On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> wrote: Has anyone researched whether a city council person can serve as a part-time municipal court judge for another municipality? Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,XngI2YCT54rYPXDUKzTmJKPnIk5V2gD2KNDmf2NosCgLVhbxA2oqIwj4Ru3RcZU-sWj7fXUSm7hqKJpcj0ZzQTtGgknuu6ATAy0QsQQtqWmbAg,,&typo=1> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. -- Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama-leave@lists.imla.org>