Aug 28, 2007 12:55 pm US/Eastern
The Florida Commission On Ethics
jm
(CBS4)
Florida Commission on Ethics Complaint Process
The Florida Commission on Ethics is a nine-member Commission, with a staff of approximately twenty employees located in Tallahassee, that serves as the guardian of the standards of conduct for officers and employees of Florida and its political subdivisions and functions as an independent commission responsible for investigating and issuing public reports on complaints of breaches of the public trust by public officers and employees.
The Florida Commission on Ethics can only investigate an allegation of wrongdoing if a sworn complaint is made that an official has violated state laws.
In the first part of the process, the Commission's staff determines if they believe that the complaint, if true, would be a violation of the state's ethic rules and laws. Their findings are then presented to the Florida Commission on Ethics which would then rule whether there is 'probable cause' that state ethics laws have been broken.
Up until the 'probable cause' determination has been made, the investigation is strictly confidential under state law.
If the Commission finds that there is 'probable cause' to proceed with a full investigation, all hearings, documents and related files are opened to the public.
CBS4 reporter Gary Nelson was able to report on the sworn complaint made by former Miami Police Chief Kenneth Harms against current Chief John Timoney because Harms came forward and supplied Nelson with a copy of the sworn complaint.
Click Here for more on the Florida Commission on Ethics
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