On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Nevada Commission on Ethics v Carrigan, 10-568. Here is a summary of that argument by Lyle Denniston of Scotusblog. The case explores whether the First Amendment free speech provision has any protection for government officials when they vote on official business. The case arose in Sparks, when a city councilmember voted in favor of a casino project. He was then censured by the Ethics Commission, because a friend of his, who had once been his campaign manager, was involved with that casino. The Nevada Supreme Court then said the Ethics Commission’s action violated the councilmember’s free speech.
UPDATE: here is the 67-page transcript.
How about if the voters have a self-interest in voting for a party hack robot or a ballot issue ???
Some sort of ethics violation — in this New Age of growing INSANITY ???