Ethics Panel Appeals Ruling Limiting Its Power
The Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Wednesday asked a state appellate court to overturn a ruling barring it from investigating alleged felonies.
At issue is Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien’s recent decision to block the panel’s participation in a felony investigation of alleged payroll irregularities in the office of City Atty. James K. Hahn. O’Brien ruled that the Ethics Commission’s investigatory powers were limited to misdemeanors.
The appeal filed by Edward M. Medvene, an attorney representing the panel, argued, in part, that the ruling “has cast a cloud over the Ethics Commission’s powers and impeded several other ongoing investigations.” If the appeal fails to overturn O’Brien’s ruling, City Council members have said they would ask for a ballot initiative seeking to restore the panel’s full investigative powers.
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