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Kalipolis t1_j9pqlzz wrote

The sheriff’s office is pretty pointless to be honest and may not conflict with him doing criminal defense work. The entire office should just get rolled into an office under the mayor, there would actually be some accountability as the mayor generally doesn’t want to look bad but a row office elected official doesn’t care as long as the machine bosses are happy.

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ParallelPeterParker t1_j9q5msn wrote

On some level, it actually doesn't matter if it doesn't actually conflict if the appearance of conflict is there (and I think it is).

Counsel to a law enforcement body also serving as a counsel to various criminal defendants is about as close as you can get to appearing to be conflicted without actually being so (in a particular case). The Ethics Board makes a point of this in annual presentations to City Staff.

To that point, this statement by Krasner is one of the most shocking things I've ever seen a high profile and actually legitimate attorney say:

>“There’s a difference between an actual legal conflict and something that people might interpret as a conflict because there’s an appearance of impropriety,” Krasner said. “That is all completely separate from whether or not there’s an ethical issue.”

ETA: All to say, if you work for the public, I expect you to seriously consider the implications of even appearing to have a conflict. Moreover, if you want to ask, you can request an ethics opinion first. Obviously, he didn't do that.

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PhillyPanda t1_j9req1q wrote

It should need to be disclosed and vetted. It doesn’t have to amount to a conflict in the end but it has to be on record and looked at to decide.

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