Enforcement & Complaints

Too many of my blog entries look at instances where things did not go right. One reason is that when things do go right, no one talks about them. Another reason is that so often ethics problems are not handled very well.

So it's nice to read about the proper handling of a conflict situation in Superior, Wisconsin. I suppose when you live in a town with this name, your aspirations are greater than most cities'.

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My state, Connecticut, has just added itself to the at least 14 states that provide for public official pension forfeiture. Like some of the other states, its new law covers municipal officials.

The standard of proof for determining whether an ethical violation occurred has become an issue in Louisiana's ethics reform. After looking at several local government ethics codes, as well as the ethics codes of the states that have jurisdiction over local government officials, I don't think standards of proof have become enough of an issue in most jurisdictions.

The decision of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal in In re Arnold (May 23, 2008) causes serious problems with respect to ethics enforcement against local government legislators, at least in Louisiana. It opens up a can of worms that I haven't seen discussed (I'd appreciate being alerted to where it has been discussed).

When should governments provide counsel for officials who have had an ethics complaint brought against them? This has become a big issue recently in my state, Connecticut.

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Ethics complaints are often brought for purely political reasons, and election time is the favorite time for bringing them.

According to an article in yesterday's Flint Journal, a Thetford Township Supervisor brought an ethics complaint before his own board against a township Trustee who is planning to run for his seat this year. The complaint raises a reasonable problem involving a property tax exemption, but it is clearly not a violation of the township's ethics code.

I also write a blog relating to my town's government. One purpose for starting the blog, and its sister information website (the town's website is so limited, it doesn't even include town ordinances, the town's code of ethics, or the town charter), was to create a model that could be used by people in other towns who are faced with an administration that is closed and acts unethically.

Today's New York Times Week in Review section features an article on local prosecutors and how their ethical misconduct is dealt with by the lawyer discipline system, the profession's disciplinary system. The case of the Duke lacrosse prosecutor, Michael B. Nifong, is, of course, the occasion for this article. Mr. Nifong was disbarred for withholding evidence from the defense and misleading the court. Sanctions for prosecutorial misconduct are rare. But the question is, Why?

You don't hear too much about recidivism in the municipal ethics world. One reason may be that it happens, but often at different levels, as a politician moves up the ladder. Take Congressional Representative Gary Miller, for instance. According to a recent article in The Hill, he got his start when he was a member of the Diamond Bar (CA) City Council.