When it comes to conflicts of interest, is a local government
attorney primarily an attorney or a local government official? I
would answer this question, "Definitely an official." But recently
the New Jersey Supreme Court answered this question, "Definitely an
attorney." In fact, had the attorney been an administrator, the
opinion suggests, the court's decision would have been different.
The opinion focuses on the standard for determining whether the decision of a local government body should be voided, as tainted by a conflict of interest. The two standards considered are actual prejudice and appearance of impropriety. Different levels of court applied different standards in the case of Kane Properties, LLC v. City of Hoboken. The NJ Supreme Court's decision on the standard was made on June 26. Thanks to Patricia Salkin for bringing this decision to my attention by blogging about it on her Law of the Land blog.
The opinion focuses on the standard for determining whether the decision of a local government body should be voided, as tainted by a conflict of interest. The two standards considered are actual prejudice and appearance of impropriety. Different levels of court applied different standards in the case of Kane Properties, LLC v. City of Hoboken. The NJ Supreme Court's decision on the standard was made on June 26. Thanks to Patricia Salkin for bringing this decision to my attention by blogging about it on her Law of the Land blog.