I wish that a grad student somewhere would decide to do an exhaustive
study of a poor ethics environment. Broward County, Florida would not
be a bad choice as the subject of her research.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/13/v-fullstory/2166137/longtime-deer…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Miami <i>Herald</i> this week</a>, a Deerfield Beach

In <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/1478&quot; target="”_blank”">my last post</a>, I dealt with the many arguments against application of
the attorney-client privilege in the context of an inspector general,
or ethics commission, investigation of official misconduct. One thing I
did not do was respond to the general argument in favor of
attorney-client privilege.<br>
<br>

Is the attorney-client privilege, in the context of an inspector
general's (or, for that a matter, an ethics commission's) investigation
of misconduct in city government,
"sacred," as Chicago's corporation counsel insists? Is it even
appropriate?<br>
<br>
This is a long post that will be fascinating to many, will raise hackles in some, but will be of less
interest to others. If you want to cut to the chase, read the summary
paragraph at the end and move on.<br>
<br>

When there is no formal process for dealing with a council member's conflict of interest, and the council handles the matter itself,
things can get farcical. This is what is
happening in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue,_Washington&quot; target="”_blank”">Bellevue, WA</a>.
This wealthy suburb of Seattle, with a population of 120,000, has an
ethics code for employees, but with no independent enforcement. Its

When there is a time period in an ethics code investigation or hearing
provision, there is always the question:  What happens if some
event does not take place within the designated time period? Does that
mean that the complaint is automatically dismissed?<br>
<br>
This issue arises due to a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (an

<b>Update: May 14, 2011</b> (see below)<br>
<br>
An ethics controversy in Hartford presents a perfect opportunity to
show the difference between ethics and law, and the right way to
approach financial disclosure requirements.<br>
<br>
Here are the facts, as reported in two Jon Lender columns in the

Max H. Bazerman and Ann
E. Tenbrunsel, the authors of the new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Spots-Whats-Right-about/dp/0691147507&quot; target="”_blank”">Blind
Spots:
Why
We
Fail
to
Do
What's
Right
and
What to Do about It</a> (Princeton University
Press), present several ways of dealing with the many problems they
raise in their book.<br>
<br>

An interesting question arises from <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/10/v-fullstory/2159921/robaina-at-ce…; target="”_blank”">a
big
investigative article in yesterday's Miami <i>Herald</i></a>:  is it
unethical for a mayor and his wife to be part of a shadow banking
network in their city?<br>
<br>

It's not every day that there is an all-day conference on local
government ethics. It's not even every year. So I'm happy to be
able to share with you the fact that, this week, there will be such a conference in
Miami, convened by the Center for Ethics at St. Thomas University (a
center about which there appears to be no information online), in
conjunction with the St. Thomas University School of Law, the
Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, and the

I've noted on several occasions that indirect conflicts are among the
most problematic areas in government ethics. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Spots-Whats-Right-about/dp/0691147507&quot; target="”_blank”">Blind
Spots:
Why
We
Fail
to
Do
What's
Right
and
What to Do about It</a>, a new book by
Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel (Princeton University Press),