Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings

Several of the women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct
toward them have filed defamation suits, based on his conduct and,
especially, on the conduct of his attorneys, who not only stated
Cosby's denial of sexual misconduct, but also went on the attack
against the accusing women.<br>
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This situation reminds me of what sometimes happens when government
officials are accused of ethical misconduct. They and their
attorneys do not stop at denials. They insist that they are the

<p>Across the country, requests for citizen complaints provide not only for complaints, but also for commendations. I happened to notice one of these when I was in the nation's capital this weekend, and it got me wondering why this is not done with respect to government ethics complaints and hotline reports.<br />
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There are several problems with the settlement the Massachusetts AG
reached last week with a lobbying firm that the AG alleged had
entered into an illegal contingency fee agreement with a hospital.
According to <a href="http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2014/2014-08-15…; target="”_blank”">the
AG's press release</a>, the lobbying firm would be paid a

The big news in the government ethics world today is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-th…; target="”_blank”">the
investigative piece in the New York <i>Times</i></a> about New
York governor Andrew Cuomo's interference in the work of the
Moreland Commission he created to investigate corruption in the

According to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/russia-bans-congressman-jim-moran…; target="”_blank”">an Associated Press article this weekend</a>, Jim Moran, a
congressman from Virginia, was banned from entering Russia
supposedly for a series of financial misdeeds. These supposed

The Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution protects
activities within the "legislative sphere" from being heard outside
the legislature, and prevents the introduction of evidence of
legislative activity in any such hearing. <a href="http://www.pointoforder.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/House-response-t…; target="”_blank”">A

Rarely is a non-politician celebrity the subject of a local
government ethics matter. So with David Beckham the subject of a
Miami-Dade County ethics commission investigative report last week,
and with important issues to boot [pun intended], this is an
impossible matter to pass by.<br>
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<b>Initiating Contact</b><br>
The most interesting issues in this matter are whether lobbying is a one-way

In <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/misguided-attempt-provide-more-due-pr…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post ten days ago</a>, I predicted that Florida state
senator Joe Abruzzo, the sponsor of SB 1474, would realize that the
newly amended bill would not do what he really wanted and make the
appropriate changes, so
that the amended SB 1474 would be consistent with HB 1315.<br>
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"Why hire a lawyer to do an internal investigation? It’s because you
get the privileges. Otherwise, you’d save a little money and hire a
consultant or accountant." These are the wise words of Bruce A. Green, Director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and
Ethics at Fordham Law School, as quoted <a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/03/jp-morganmadoff-case-puts-spotli…; target="”_blank”">in

Why is it so hard for officials, personally or in drafting ethics codes, to let an ethics commission do its
work, dismissing complaints that lack validity (i.e., that do not state an ethics violation by someone under the ethics program's jurisdiction or for which there is insufficient evidence)? Why, instead, do they create and take advantage of non-substantive considerations for dismissal of complaints in order to take revenge on complainants?<br>
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