Ethics Codes & Reform May 2, 2009

Like Constitutions, Interpreting Ethics Codes Requires Understanding, Humility, and Transparency

Here's a short opinion piece by Walter Dellinger, head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Pres. Clinton. It's part of a series of such pieces that will appear in tomorrow's Washington Post. The opinions concern what Pres. Obama should be looking for in his first Supreme Court nominee. After Dellinger's opinion piece, I tie his ideas into government ethics. I think they're very important observations.
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May 1, 2009

The Defense of the Nevada Legislative Immunity Amendment Falls Short

I listened yesterday to the testimony of Kevin Powers, a member of the Nevada Legislative Counsel's office, to the House Committee considering the legislative immunity amendment I discussed in yesterday's blog post. He was very impressive, with all the facts and laws at his fingertips. But his defense and explanations fell short of convincing me (but apparently not the legislators) that the amendment is appropriate.
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Ethics Commissions & Administration April 29, 2009

Ethics Commission Meetings -- Passivity Doesn't Cut It

How often should ethics commissions meet?

The usual answer to that question is, As often as they need to. But how often is that?

That depends on their responsibilities. If all they do is respond to complaints and requests for advisory opinions, then they need only meet when they receive one or the other.

But what about ethics training? Even if they are not required to train or oversee training of local government officials and employees, they need to be trained themselves.
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