Innocence and the Difference Between Criminal and Ethics Enforcement
Is it enough for a local official to be "not guilty"? This is the
question that has been raised with respect to a Tamarac, FL city
commissioner who was found not guilty of bribery in December,
according to <a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-02/news/fl-corruption-mayocol-…; target="”_blank”">a
column by Michael Mayo this week in the <i>Sun-Sentinel</i></a>.<br>
<br>
Soon after she was found not guilty, the governor reinstated her to
her position, and next week she will be back on the city commission.
However, jurors say they feel she should not go back to the
commission. The reasons point to an important difference between
criminal and ethics enforcement.<br>
<br>
One juror is quoted as saying, "If I could convict a person for
being stupid, she'd be at the top of my list. … If I was her I
wouldn't go back [to politics]. It's not for her. ... I don't think
she knew what she was doing."<br>
<br>
According to the column, the six jurors "apparently weren't
convinced that she acted 'with corrupt intent.'" A principal reason
they came to this conclusion is that the defense portrayed the
commissioner as clueless, as not realizing what was going on. The
jurors felt there was a reasonable doubt that the commissioner had
corrupt intent, not that she didn't do anything wrong.<br>
<br>
Cluelessness is not a defense in government ethics enforcement, nor
should it be. A government official has an obligation to know what's
going on. All that has to be proved is that she accepted an illegal
gift. Her intent and cluelessness are only mitigating circumstances
in determining the penalty.<br>
<br>
An official who accepts an illegal gift may be innocent, but only in
the sense that a child is innocent, not in the sense that people use
this word as equivalent to "not guilty." <br>
<br>
Of course, an official can learn from her mistakes and change from
an innocent to a knowing, mature public servant. But sadly, this
does not seem to be the case here. The 66-year-old commissioner is
quoted as saying, "The word innocent is the word innocent. It's
done, and I'm going back to work and that's the end of it."<br>
<br>
See <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/rotten-crop-oranges-tamarac-florida&q…; target="”_blank”">my
other blog post on Tamarac</a>, from two years ago.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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