Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

William & Mary Law School

William & Mary Law Review

Legal History

2021

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Law

Fiduciary Law And The Law Of Public Office, Ethan J. Leib, Andrew Kent Mar 2021

Fiduciary Law And The Law Of Public Office, Ethan J. Leib, Andrew Kent

William & Mary Law Review

A law of public office crystallized in Anglo-American law in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This body of law—defined and enforced through a mix of oaths, statutes, criminal and civil case law, impeachments, and legislative investigations—imposed core duties on holders of public executive offices: officials needed to serve the public good, not their own private interests; were barred from acting ultra vires; could often be required to account to the public for their conduct in office; and needed to act with impartiality, honesty, and diligence. Officeholding came to be viewed as conditional, with officers removable for misdeeds. These substantive duties …