Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings

Although the ethics proceedings involving Rep. Charles Rangel (NY) are
at the federal level, there is a lot to be learned from them that is
relevant at the local level.<br>
<br>
Yesterday, Mr. Rangel walked out of a meeting of the adjudicatory
subcommittee of the House ethics committee, insisting that he could not
afford a lawyer and asking for an extension. He has apparently run up
$2 million in legal fees, and his lawyers ended their representation of
him when he could not pay. Pro bono counsel is not allowed because it

Election time makes public many ethics situations that make valuable case studies. One involves Florida gubernatorial candidate
Rick Scott.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/oct/28/rick-scott-solantic-investig…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Naples (FL) <i>News</i></a>, there is reason to believe that

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/stamford-ethics-controversy-involving…; target="”_blank”">I
recently wrote about a situation</a> in Stamford, CT in which probable
cause was found based on a policy declaration rather than an
enforceable ethics provision. That situation appeared to involve a
misunderstanding, with a unanimous ethics commission finding probable

Many jurisdictions have a rule that disallows the filing of an ethics
complaint against an elected official within so many days before an
election. The purpose of such a rule is to prevent the abuse of the
ethics process for political purposes. But is this the best
solution to this problem?<br>
<br>

Forget the fascinating range of ethics programs at the local level. It is congressional
ethics programs that get the national attention. And with all this attention, what Congress does, and fails to do, has a great effect not
only on what happens at the local level, but also on the rhetoric
employed there.<br>
<br>
When Congress self-administered its own ethics, every council or county
commission member could say that if self-regulation is good enough for
Congress, it's good enough for them. Only legislative bodies, the

Using government employees for private purposes is one of the most
common ethics code violations.<br>
<br>
This violation is especially bad because it involves coercion of
individuals, in this case subordinates who are not in a position to say
no. Coercion and intimidation rarely occur outside of a poor
ethical environment.<br>
<br>
This violation also shows a serious failure to recognize the boundary
between public and private, which is the heart of government ethics.<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.ajc.com/business/connections-count-at-law-592015.html&quot; target="”_blank”">Last
Saturday's
Atlanta <i>Journal-Constitution</i> ran a long article</a>, "Connections Count
at Law Firm," on the Washington/Atlanta-based law firm <a href="http://www.mckennalong.com/&quot; target="”_blank”">McKenna Long & Aldridge</a>.

In <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/there-meaningful-difference-between-m…; target="”_blank”">a
recent blog post</a>, I wrote about a federal third circuit decision
that a law prohibiting an ethics complainant from announcing the filing
of the complaint violates the complainant's first amendment rights.
This decision contradicts a second circuit decision that upheld a law

According to <a href="http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2010/07/24/politics_and_elections/n…; target="”_blank”">an
article
in the <i>News-Tribune</i></a>, the governor of Missouri recently
signed <a href="http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/pdf-bill/tat/SB844.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">an
ethics

<b>Update:</b> October 22, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
Recently, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/political-use-ethics-complaints-and-m…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post</a> on the political use of ethics complaints and the
manipulation of the press. Yesterday, the third circuit court of
appeals effectively, and I think wrongly, disagreed with one of my