Your WACE Board is excited to welcome Matthew Silver, Esq. CCEO, managing partner of Civica Law Group, as our Keynote Speaker for the 2024 WACE Spring Conference. This conference is free for all active WACE members. Non-members may take advantage of this and future free trainings by joining WACE! The $55 registration fee includes a one-year membership to the organization. 

The conference will be held virtually to allow access to more members across the state who may not otherwise be able to travel for training. Expect more online sessions coming available this year. Save the date for our annual in-person Fall Conference in Leavenworth, Washington at Icicle Village Resort September 11th, 12th, & 13th 2024.

4^th Amendment: Rights of Inspection for Code Enforcement

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution applies to all local government officials whenever they enter into private property or businesses, whether for inspections, abatements, searches or seizures.  Even red-tags and vehicle abatement can invoke the Fourth Amendment.  Agencies must comply with the law or risk lawsuits, significant damages and attorney’s fees, and losing evidence in a case.  This course will teach the law as applied to code enforcement, building and other inspectors, and includes best practices and real-life scenarios to conduct inspections that comply with the law.

Matthew R. Silver, Esq., CCEO – Bio

Matthew R. Silver is founding partner at Civica Law Group, APC, a law firm focused on serving cities, counties and special districts in code enforcement, receiverships, litigation defense and land use practice. Mr. Silver’s has a unique expertise on litigation in code enforcement, substandard housing, land use, drones and public agency law, nuisance abatement and receiverships. He has extensive experience in the courtroom in both civil and criminal litigation, having handled thousands of cases from inception to resolution, including through trial, writs and appeals in both State and Federal courts. Several cases have led to published case law, including in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Silver is a nationally recognized leader in code enforcement law, and his experience includes receiverships over substandard and blighted properties, civil litigation involving individuals and corporations that violate municipal codes and certain State laws, all aspects of complex nuisance abatement, enforcement of the State Housing Laws, drones and public agency law, constitutional law, land use review and revocation hearings, administrative law, and working with clients to develop efficient and effective systems for enforcing their municipal codes.
Mr. Silver volunteers his time to an array of code enforcement and public service-related organizations and events, including serving for over a decade as a volunteer on the executive board for the California predominant code enforcement organization, serving as an appointed member on a Senate working group, working with local homeless shelters and pro bono legal work. Mr. Silver is a frequent speaker and teacher on code enforcement and municipal litigation-related topics, and has served as lecturer at local colleges on these subjects. His articles have been featured in several publications and he has been featured on several podcasts. Mr. Silver has written and contributed to several State bills that have become law.
In 2000, Mr. Silver was honored to receive several awards for heroism stemming from an incident in which he pulled a person out of a sinking car that had crashed into a lake. He is a strong believer in the positive effect local government can on people’s lives, and the rights of people to live in safe and healthy communities.

EDUCATION
Juris Doctor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
B.A. in English, University of California – Irvine
Certified Code Enforcement Officer, CACEO

AREAS OF FOCUS
Code Enforcement
Drones & Public Agency Law
Substandard Housing
Receiverships
Nuisance Abatement
Constitutional Law
Public Agency Litigation
Liens & Assessments
Warrants
Homelessness & Public Camping