Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings

March 22, 2013

The Educational Opportunities of a Local Ethics Case in Massachusetts

A settlement in a Massachusetts ethics proceeding can be used as an educational opportunity in several ways. According to a February 28 press release from the Massachusetts Ethics Commission, which has jurisdiction over local officials, a member of the Kingston Community Preservation Committee (CPC…

Enforcement & Complaints January 10, 2013

Restorative Justice in Government Ethics

Government ethics proceedings are usually not very satisfying for those involved. Individuals rarely get to tell the entire story from their point of view. Nor do they profit from hearing how others saw the situation or experienced the events. The format for ethics proceedings is similar to the cri…

Enforcement & Complaints December 6, 2012

Intimidation in the Complaint Process

An eye-opening report was published this week by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. The report was based on a survey of all the state's police departments regarding the filing of complaints. Although complaints filed by the public against police officers rarely involve conflicts of …

December 4, 2012

Taking Responsibility for COGEL Awards

Yesterday, at the annual conference of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), the only association of state and local government ethics professionals, Judge Anthony Wilhoit was given the COGEL Award, which is given annually to someone who has "made a significant, demonstrable, and positiv…

Enforcement & Complaints November 9, 2012

Problems with the "Throw the Bums Out" Approach

The headline of a New York Times article today is, "Ethics in Play, Voters Oust Incumbents Under Inquiry." One's first impression upon reading the article is that people are throwing unethical politicians out of office. The system is working. But upon further thought, it doesn't seem to be working …

Local Government Practice September 26, 2012

The Purposes Behind Revolving Door Provisions

An interesting case in Iowa raises questions about the purposes behind post-employment, or "revolving door," provisions, including whom they are supposed to protect and why. According to an Associated Press article yesterday, a former chief of staff and general counsel to Iowa's then governor is re…

September 25, 2012

Ethics Watchdogs, Motives, and Georgia's Ethics Program Problem

The reason I haven't written about George Anderson is that he has done too much, and been too controversial, for me to get a handle on him. In other words, laziness. He has been an ethics and non-ethics watchdog in Georgia for many years, filing numerous ethics and other sorts of complaints both at…

Enforcement & Complaints September 10, 2012

The Real-Life Results of a Lack of Independence and Transparency in an Ethics Program

Last week, I wrote blog posts about how Chicago's ethics program needs more independence and more transparency than the Ethics Reform Task Force recommended. I couldn't have imagined better evidence to support my criticisms than what has been happening recently with the New York state Joint Commiss…

Enforcement & Complaints August 29, 2012

Issues Arising from an Iowa Complaint Dismissal

A number of important issues arise from a case before the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (ECDB) last week. The issues include: (1) how to treat an inadequate complaint; (2) how to treat a complainant in a proceeding, and (3) what to do when an ethics code and rules may be inadequate to a…

Enforcement & Complaints August 15, 2012

The Problems with Requiring a Sworn Ethics Complaint Based on Personally Known Facts

Is it important that an ethics complaint be based on information that is known personally? Some ethics codes require this. But the fact is that many ethics violations are done secretly. It can take some serious, professional investigation to obtain the facts and relevant documents. This is why inve…

Subscribe to Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings