Appellate Division Upholds Ethics Commission’s Subpoena Power

Earlier today, the Appellate Division, Third Department upheld the authority of the Commission on Public Integrity (the predecessor to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics) to subpoena testimony from the former head of the SUNY Research Foundation.

O’Connor, who was investigated for potential ethics violations for hiring the daughter of then-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, argued that the CPI’s subpoena authority ceased upon its issuance of a “notice of reasonable cause” (NORC).

The Court wrote:

“Executive Law § 94 former (16) (d) contains no time limitation on the Commission’s broad power to “[c]onduct any investigation” to carry out the provisions of the statute. Nor does the regulation at issue – which addresses only when a NORC may be issued and to whom it must be sent – reference the Commission’s statutory subpoena power or contain any language purporting to impose a limitation on that power. We are hard pressed to read the regulation in a manner that would restrict the power expressly vested upon the Commission by the Legislature.”

The decision, In the Matter of O’Connor v. Ginsberg, means that JCOPE can move forward with the original investigation regarding O’Connor’s possible violation of the Public Officers Law.

Update:  Read the Times Union’s coverage of the decision.