[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of West Milford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-10-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-026]
Prior to being hired, any attorney who applies for a legal position within the Township of West Milford and/or its boards, committees or other agencies of the municipality shall complete and execute both an attorney ethics history certification and a disciplinary authorization and release form, or other superseding form promulgated by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Office of Attorney Ethics.
A. 
The attorney ethics history certification form shall be a form adopted by the governing body of the Township of West Milford and shall cause the licensed legal professional to certify, under oath, the prior ethics history of that professional. The certification shall also state that the professional understands that any discrepancy ultimately discovered between the certification and the release forms may constitute cause for removal from such position, as authorized by the governing body of the Township of West Milford. The certification form shall be certified to and completed by the licensed legal professional during the application process and submitted to the Township Clerk to be kept on file as part of his/her application, and shall be considered a public document by the Township. The certification form, however, shall be returned to the licensed legal professional in the event the professional is not hired by the Township of West Milford.
B. 
The release form shall grant authorization to the Township of West Milford to request from the Office of Attorney Ethics, a certificate of ethical conduct or other superseding certificate, relating to the licensed legal professional's ethics history. The form shall be executed by the licensed legal professional during the application process and shall be submitted to the Township Clerk for proper forwarding to the Office of Attorney Ethics. Upon receipt by the Township Clerk of the certificate of ethical conduct or other superseding certificate and any documents relating to the professional's ethics history, the documents shall be kept on file as part of his/her personnel record and shall be considered a public document by the Township. The documents, however, shall be returned to the licensed legal professional in the event the professional is not hired by the Township of West Milford.
The provisions in § 31-1 of this article shall apply to consideration of the appointments and reappointments to the following offices: Township Attorney, Township Prosecutor, Municipal Court Judge, Public Defender, Planning Board Attorney, Board of Adjustment Attorney, Bond Attorney, Labor Attorney, as well as the attorneys for other commissions, committees, boards, authorities and other agencies. In addition, the provisions of § 31-1 of this article shall also apply to any licensed legal professional working in the law firm of the individual(s) appointed or retained by the Township who provides the Township with legal services in conjunction with the appointed or retained individual(s).
Any licensed legal professional within the scope of this article who does not comply with the provisions contained herein may not be considered for appointment or reappointment to the Township by the Mayor and Council, or by the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment or any other board or agency.
This article shall not apply to licensed legal professionals who have already been appointed or retained by the Township prior to the article's passage; instead, the licensed legal professionals who are subsequently appointed or retained by the Township after this article's passage shall be subject to the provisions of this article. This article shall not apply to substitute judges, prosecutors or public defenders that appear in the West Milford Township Municipal Court.