Philly sheriff’s top legal adviser has been moonlighting as a criminal defense lawyer

Undersheriff Tariq El-Shabazz has been representing clients in city courts, records show, an apparent violation of ethics rules.

At this July 2022 press conference about a warrant sweep, Undersheriff Tariq El-Shabazz (gray beard in background) stood alongside other law enforcement officials, including Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, Captain Nicole Nobles, of the Sheriff's Office, and Frank Vanore, of the Philadelphia Police Department. El-Shabazz, the second-in-command in the sheriff's office, was also handling criminal cases as a defense attorney. — At this July 2022 press conference about a warrant sweep, Undersheriff Tariq El-Shabazz (gray beard in background) stood alongside other law enforcement officials, including Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, Captain Nicole Nobles, of the Sheriff's Office, and Frank Vanore, of the Philadelphia Police Department. El-Shabazz, the second-in-command in the sheriff's office, was also handling criminal cases as a defense attorney.Read morePhiladelphia Sheriff's Office

by Ryan W. Briggs and William Bender

Published Feb. 2, 2023, 4:28 p.m. ET

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