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For all you local government legislative immunity fans, here's a case you'll enjoy (other local government ethics people should find it interesting, as well). A Virginia state senator has sued members of a city council for what they did in their legislative capacity, despite the fact that she knows she herself cannot be sued for what she's done in her legislative capacity. That's a nice start, isn't it?

Roland Burris's acceptance of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's offer of Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat is based on a willful, self-serving misunderstanding about the difference between ethics and law.

Here is what Burris told MSNBC in a December 31 interview (video and transcript):

I have been legally appointed by the governor of our...

The Nevada legislative immunity opinion has come down. It's in two parts, searchable, 1 and 2. There's also a Las Vegas Review-Journal article on the decision, which says that the ethics commission plans...

What's the best reason for mayoral candidates not to disclose their finances, monies received directly or indirectly from the city, etc.? Just ask some of the candidates running to replace disgraced Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. According to an article in today's Detroit Free Press, candidate Dave Bing has...

It's pop quiz time. Read the following ethics code provision and hypothetical, and answer the question that follows them.

While on the topic of ex parte communications, it's a good time to mention a very special ex parte communications provision, Miami-Dade County's renowned "code of silence" provision. It's also a good time because, according to an article in the Miami Herald, the provision was reconsidered earlier this month by the Budget and Finance Committee of the county commission. Here's how the...