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Bonner County commissioners debate rule requiring board approval to release legal opinions
Summary
At a special Bonner County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a commissioner moved to require a board vote before legal opinions prepared for the board are released; commissioners expressed concerns about vagueness and legal authority and agreed to revisit the proposal after staff provides statute and privilege guidance.
A commissioner moved at a special Bonner County Board of County Commissioners meeting that all legal opinions provided to the board require a formal board vote before they may be released outside the organization.
The motion was presented as a way to protect attorney-client privilege and to avoid inadvertently disclosing legal work product that could harm the county's litigation or negotiation positions. Lewis Marshall of the Prosecutor’s Office told commissioners, "I support the idea," according to material provided to the board.
County staff said the prosecutor’s office routinely circulates written legal advice to all three commissioners when one asks a legal question. The motion seeks to make release of those written opinions an affirmative board decision rather than something an individual commissioner can forward. The motion text offered at the meeting read: "I move that all legal opinions require a board…
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