In the news

Here's an ethics story from Orlando with a good ending. It emphasizes what I wrote recently, that government ethics involves dealing responsibly with conflict situations.

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At a University of Washington panel on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, known most recently for his investigation and arrest of Gov. Blagojevich, spoke about corruption in government and what can be done about it.

According to an...

According to an article in Tuesday's New York Times, nonprofits are seeking an exception to the Obama administration's rule that lobbyists cannot serve in areas where they have lobbied. This raises the issue of the purpose of revolving-door provisions, which are common in local government ethics codes.

The oral arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court in the Commission on Ethics v. Hardy appeal are now available in MP3 format, suitable for your media player.

It doesn't look as if the decision will be a good one for government ethics enforcement, certainly at the state level and, perhaps, at the local level, as well.

Once again, it has been proven that placing ethics in the hands of prosecutors can be damaging to the cause of government ethics. The proof this time is in the state prosecutor's opposition to the Baltimore mayor's motion to dismiss criminal ethics charges against her, partially on account of legislative immunity.

In his opposition to the motion to dismiss...

Yesterday, the Nevada legislative immunity case was argued before the state Supreme Court. The Las Vegas Sun reporter felt that the judges' questions favored the state legislator rather than the ethics commission. I'll let people know when the oral arguments audio goes up on the Supreme Court website.