Patrick M. Stanley, Grant County Constable
AGO OAG 19-17
No. OAG 19-017
Kentucky Attorney General Opinion
Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
September 6, 2019
Subject:
Whether an elected constable can also serve as deputy
coroner.
Requested
by: Patrick M. Stanley, Grant County Constable
Written
by: Sarah Ellen Eads Adkins, Assistant Attorney General
Syllabus:
In our view there is no statutory nor constitutional
incompatibility between the offices of constable and deputy
coroner.
Statutes
construed: Ky. Const. § 165; KRS 61.080; Ky. Const.
§ 99; KRS 72.010; KRS 61.090
OAGs
cited: OAG 91-632; OAG 17-107; OAG 77-712; OAG 77-8; OAG
79-211; OAG 81-427; OAG 82-491; OAG 84-101
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Patrick
M. Stanley, Grant County Constable, has requested an opinion
of this office to address whether an elected constable may
also serve as deputy coroner. We find no incompatibility
exists between the two offices.
According
to Kentucky law, an individual may not occupy two
incompatible offices simultaneously. LaGrange City
Council v. Hall Bros. Co. of Oldham Cty., Inc., 3 S.W.3d
765, 769 (Ky. App. 1999) (citation omitted). Kentucky
Constitution Section 165 prohibits an individual from, being
a state officer "and an officer of any county, city,
town or other municipality, or an employee thereof [[.]"
It also prohibits an individual from occupying two municipal
offices. Ky. CONST. § 165. In relevant part, KRS
61.080(2) provides that, "[t]he offices of justice of
the peace, county judge/executive, surveyor, sheriff, deputy
sheriff, coroner, constable, jailer, and clerk or deputy
clerk of a court, shall be incompatible, the one (1) with any
of the others." Offices may also be incompatible
according to common-law "when the two offices are
inherently inconsistent or repugnant, or when the occupancy
of the two offices is detrimental to the public
interest." Webb v. Carter Cty. Fiscal Court,
165 S.W.3d 490, 492-93 (Ky. App. 2005) (citing Polley v.
Fortenberry, 105 S.W.2d 143, 144-45 (Ky. 1937)...
