Public Ethics Law

• Despite widespread cynicism about public ethics, students are likely to agree that a rule of law depends on the perceived legitimacy of public officials and that legitimacy is impossible without widespread ethical behavior. Discuss with supporting example what can be done to cultivate ethical behavior in public officials.
• Take a position on whether or not behavior should be governed by compliance with rules. Support your position with examples or evidence.

• After reading the case summary, People v. Howard, if you were an Illinois state legislator, would you support a bill in response to People v. Howard that provides that only conduct specifically prescribed by a state statute may be a predicate offense for official misconduct? Why or why not?
• Evaluate Van Itallie v. Franklin Lakes. Based on the facts described in Van Itallie v. Franklin Lakes, take a position and explain what you would have done differently, if anything, if you were the council members.

Answer preview

In the public sector, the public official’s duty as steward to the public is governed by ethics (Rohr, 2017). Ethics offers accountability standards that enable the members of the public to scrutinize the work that is done by public officials. The government sets laws to be used as guidelines to the public officials to maintain ethical standards. What the law prohibits becomes unethical. For instance, laws that are against bribery and misuse of federal funds is unethical…