Legal News

Suit alleges city attorney candidates dishonestly claimed to be lawyers

By Jason Siegel

A lawsuit filed by the general counsel of San Diego's Republican Party challenges the attempt by two candidates for San Diego City Attorney to list themselves as lawyers.

The suit filed on Monday by attorney David King challenges the listing provided by San Diego city council members Brian Maienschein and Scott Peters for the June 3 ballot.

Maienschein is listed as a ?councilmember/business attorney? and Peters as a ?council president/environmental lawyer,? the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The suit alleges that neither candidate practiced law over their seven years on the city council, that their state bar licenses were inactive until recently and that a city ordinance dictates that candidates can list only their current job or their main profession the previous year - not both.

A lawyer hired by the City Clerks office, James Lough, told the Union-Tribune that the office allowed other candidates to list multiple jobs and claimed that other sections of the municipal code override the city ordinance, allowing candidates to list multiple designations.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 20, 2008 (boomark / email).