Indirect Conflicts Involving Appointments
Election time makes public many ethics situations that make valuable case studies. One involves Florida gubernatorial candidate
Rick Scott.
Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings
Enforcement & Complaints
October 14, 2010
Basing Ethics Decisions on Unenforceable Code Provisions Undermines Trust in the Ethics Process
I
recently wrote about a situation in Stamford, CT in which probable
cause was found based on a policy declaration rather than an
enforceable ethics provision. That situation appeared to involve a
misunderstanding, with a unanimous ethics commission finding probable
cause.
Enforcement & Complaints
October 1, 2010
Rules Disallowing Complaints Before Elections
Many jurisdictions have a rule that disallows the filing of an ethics
complaint against an elected official within so many days before an
election. The purpose of such a rule is to prevent the abuse of the
ethics process for political purposes. But is this the best
solution to this problem?
Enforcement & Complaints
September 14, 2010
Opposition to Independent Ethics Enforcement in Washington Will Echo Locally
Forget the fascinating range of ethics programs at the local level. It is congressional
ethics programs that get the national attention. And with all this attention, what Congress does, and fails to do, has a great effect not
only on what happens at the local level, but also on the rhetoric
employed there.
When Congress self-administered its own ethics, every council or county commission member could say that if self-regulation is good enough for Congress, it's good enough for them. Only legislative bodies, the rhetoric went, can oversee legislators.
When Congress self-administered its own ethics, every council or county commission member could say that if self-regulation is good enough for Congress, it's good enough for them. Only legislative bodies, the rhetoric went, can oversee legislators.
Conflicts of Interest
September 8, 2010
Using Local Government Employees for Private Purposes
Using government employees for private purposes is one of the most
common ethics code violations.
This violation is especially bad because it involves coercion of individuals, in this case subordinates who are not in a position to say no. Coercion and intimidation rarely occur outside of a poor ethical environment.
This violation also shows a serious failure to recognize the boundary between public and private, which is the heart of government ethics.
This violation is especially bad because it involves coercion of individuals, in this case subordinates who are not in a position to say no. Coercion and intimidation rarely occur outside of a poor ethical environment.
This violation also shows a serious failure to recognize the boundary between public and private, which is the heart of government ethics.
Ethics Commissions & Administration
August 21, 2010
Should an Ethics Commission Member Be Affiliated with a Firm That Represents Clients Before It?
Last
Saturday's
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a long article, "Connections Count
at Law Firm," on the Washington/Atlanta-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge.
This firm was known to me primarily as the firm behind the Pay to Pay Law Blog, a
good, although too infrequent blog that looks at government ethics
and campaign finance from the compliance side, that is, fr
July 30, 2010
The New, Leaky Utah Legislative Ethics Complaint Process
In a
recent blog post, I wrote about a federal third circuit decision
that a law prohibiting an ethics complainant from announcing the filing
of the complaint violates the complainant's first amendment rights.
This decision contradicts a second circuit decision that upheld a law
prohibiting the announcing of the filing of a judicial ethics complaint.
July 27, 2010
Some Questionable Missouri Ethics Reform Provisions
According to an
article
in the News-Tribune, the governor of Missouri recently
signed an
ethics
bill (SB 844) that made many changes in the state's ethics
and campaign finance programs, and failed to make others, such as a
campaign contribution limit, which the legislature had eliminated in
2006.
Enforcement & Complaints
July 23, 2010
There Is a Meaningful Difference Between Making Accusations and Saying You've Filed an Ethics Complaint
Update: October 22, 2010 (see below)
Recently, I wrote a blog post on the political use of ethics complaints and the manipulation of the press. Yesterday, the third circuit court of appeals effectively, and I think wrongly, disagreed with one of my principal arguments in that post, and therefore came to the wrong decision.
Recently, I wrote a blog post on the political use of ethics complaints and the manipulation of the press. Yesterday, the third circuit court of appeals effectively, and I think wrongly, disagreed with one of my principal arguments in that post, and therefore came to the wrong decision.
June 7, 2010
The Office of Congressional Ethics Leaves Its Barn and the Congressional Black Caucus Tries to Rein It In
While I was away on vacation, the new, quasi-independent Office of
Congressional Ethics (OCE) was in the news a lot.
Going Outside of Congress
Going Outside of Congress