Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings

Ethics Commissions & Administration September 15, 2011

Another Argument for More Ethics Commission Authority

Three months ago, I wrote about an ethics commission decision asking for the removal of a Louisville council member, and the start of proceedings in the council to do just that. I noted that the council member's reaction was pure denial and attack on the ethics commission. According to an editorial…

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 18, 2011

The EC Selection Process and Recusal

When an ethics commission and its staff are at odds, and the commission is dealing with complaints against high-level officials, it is always best for everyone when those officials had nothing to do with the selection of the ethics commission's members or its staff. In other words, you never fully …

Enforcement & Complaints June 8, 2011

Stall and Attack Offensives in Ethics Proceedings

It's important for ethics commissions to be prepared for the occasional official who, along with his or her attorney, will do anything to stop or at least delay its investigation, including attacks on the EC itself. A good example of how relentless an official can be is John J. O'Connor, now former…

June 4, 2011

A Classic Example of a Closed Fiefdom

A report on the relationship between New York's state university system (SUNY) and the SUNY Research Foundation (RF) was published yesterday. What makes it of interest to this blog is the way the report emphasizes the personal nature of the management of the foundation, which distributes nearly a b…

Ethics Commissions & Administration March 21, 2011

EC Members Should Respond Constructively, Not Destructively to Criticism of the EC

This blog post was partially rewritten on March 24, 2011 after communication with the EC's executive director. The actions of one member of Kentucky's state legislative ethics commission has undermined the public's view of the EC and of the state's lawyer disciplinary system. This case shows why it…

January 18, 2011

Legislative Immunity's Effect on Recent Investigations of Members of Congress

Yesterday's Washington Post has a long article on a topic one would expect to find in a law review: the effect of the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause on the prosecution of members of Congress. The article starts out with a strong statement: "A constitutional clash over whether House members …

November 30, 2010

A Miscellany

Problematic Development According to Harry Themal's column in yesterday's News Journal, the newly elected county executive of New Castle County (DE) wants to review government processes "top-to-bottom." There is just one catch. According to Themal, land use procedures are most in need of reform, bu…

November 23, 2010

Local + Regional Corruption = National Corruption

The spread of corruption from local to state to national is often ignored. And when corruption is discovered, there is much litigation. In fact, it's often hard to see corruption clearly here in the U.S. That's why the occasional look at corruption abroad is useful, like looking in an only slightly…

Enforcement & Complaints November 19, 2010

In Ethics Enforcement, the Criminal Process Can Be Even Less Effective Than the Ballot Box

There are three basic approaches to enforcing ethics laws: through ethics commissions, through the criminal process, and through the ballot box. I strongly oppose using the criminal process for ethics violations (see an earlier blog post), and feel that the ballot box is far too crude a way to enf…

November 16, 2010

Some Things We Can Take Away from Rep. Rangel's Ethics Proceeding

Although the ethics proceedings involving Rep. Charles Rangel (NY) are at the federal level, there is a lot to be learned from them that is relevant at the local level. Yesterday, Mr. Rangel walked out of a meeting of the adjudicatory subcommittee of the House ethics committee, insisting that he co…

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