OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS

                             90 X 5

       Letter to a Law School Official dated April 3, 1990


     This is in response to your letter of February 16, 1990,
requesting guidance related to the application of Chapter 11 of
Title 18 of the United States Code to law students who are enrolled
in [a university law school criminal justice clinic] and who are
also employed by the Federal Government or the District of Columbia
government.  In your letter you stated that a responsibility of
students in the [program] is to represent defendants in cases
prosecuted by the United States Attorney's office, District of
Columbia, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

     The student's appointment with the Federal Government will
determine the application of the criminal conflict of interest
statutes.  A student could be appointed as a volunteer, a special
Government employee or a regular employee.  These three types of
appointments require different applications of the statutes.  The
differing applications are discussed below.

     In addition to the criminal conflict of interest statutes,
there may be further limitations on the student's activities
contained in the standards of conduct regulations of the agency
which the student serves, particularly if that agency is the
Department of Justice.  Because the standards of conduct
regulations are unique to each agency, we will not discuss them
here.

     Some students who work for the Government do so as volunteers
appointed under 5 U.S.C.  3111.  Students appointed under this
special statute do not receive monetary compensation for their work
but do receive class credit from their schools.  Students appointed
under this statute are not generally considered employees for the
purposes of conflict of interest laws.  None of the prohibitions of
section 205 apply to any student in the clinic appointed to a
Federal position under section 3111.  However, the department's or
agency's internal standards may apply to volunteers appointed under
section 3111, and each of these students should consult with the
department or agency in which he or she holds such appointment.

     If the student is a special Government employee as defined in
18 U.S.C.  202, then there are two possible sets of restrictions
which may apply.  Section 202(a) defines a special Government
employee as "an officer or employee of the executive or legislative
branch of the United States Government, or any independent agency
of the United States or the District of Columbia, who is retained,
designated, appointed, or employed to perform, with or without
compensation, for not to exceed one hundred and thirty days during
any period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days,
temporary duties either on a full-time or intermittent basis...."
It is possible that some of the students in your clinic may be
special Government employees and may thereby be subject to the less
restrictive standards set forth in section 205(c).  Please note,
however, that the status of the student is not merely a function of
how many days or portions of a day he or she may work for the
Federal Government.  For example, a special Government employee
must be designated as such when he or she is appointed.  If he or
she is not so designated, then he or she is a regular employee
regardless of the number of days he or she works.

     If the student, who is a special Government employee, has
served less than 60 days in an agency during the immediately
preceding 365-day period, then he or she may act as agent or
attorney in a matter which is pending before his or her employing
department or agency so long as he or she did not participate
personally and substantially in the matter while he or she was a
Government employee or special Government employee.  For example,
a student who has served in the Department of Justice as a special
Government employee for less than 60 days in the immediately
preceding 365 days would not be barred by the statute from
representing a defendant in a case prosecuted by any United States
Attorney's office so long as he or she did not personally and
substantially participate in the matter.  While this is used as an
example, we must caution that the Department of Justice may have
its own more strict administrative restrictions which may prevent
this representation.

     If the student has worked for the agency or department for
more than 60 days in the immediately preceding 365-day period as a
special Government employee, then he or she may not act as agent or
attorney in relation to a matter involving a specific party or
parties in which he or she participated personally and
substantially as a Government employee or special Government
employee or in a matter which is pending in the department or
agency of the Government in which he or she is serving.  For
example, a student employed as a special Government employee by the
Environmental Protection Agency would not be prohibited from
representing a defendant prosecuted by the United States Attorney's
office, District of Columbia, in Superior Court for the District of
Columbia.  However, a student employed as a special Government
employee by the Department of Justice or the United States
Attorney's office, Eastern District of Virginia, would be
prohibited from representing a defendant prosecuted by the United
States Attorney's office, District of Columbia, in the Superior
Court for the District of Columbia.

     If the student is not appointed under 5 U.S.C.  3111 or as a
special Government employee, then, without some other unique
appointment in a special program, he or she will be subject to the
general restrictions of 18 U.S.C.  205.  Subsection (a) prohibits
officers and employees of the Federal Government from acting as
agent or attorney in claims against and other matters affecting the
Federal Government.  It would prohibit students who are Federal
employees from representing defendants in criminal cases prosecuted
by the United State's Attorney office, District of Columbia.
Section 205(b) is directed at officers and employees of the
District of Columbia and officers and employees of the United
States Attorney's office, District of Columbia.  It would prohibit
students who are District of Columbia government employees from
representing defendants in cases prosecuted by either the United
States Attorney's office in which the District of Columbia is a
party or has an interest or those cases prosecuted by the District
of Columbia Corporation Counsel.

     Because students in the clinic may fall within any of the four
categories discussed above and because individual agencies may have
additional regulations which impose standards of conduct
restrictions beyond those mandated by Chapter 11 of Title 18,
United States Code, I strongly suggest that you encourage each
student in the clinic who works in any capacity for either the
United States or the District of Columbia to meet with the
designated agency ethics official for the agency he or she serves
to discuss the proper bounds of these outside activities.  I am
enclosing a list of ethics officials with this letter to aid you in
directing students to the proper official.

                                   Sincerely,

                                   Donald E. Campbell
                                   Acting Director