The September 23, 2014, Edmond J. Safra Lab seminar was presented by Network Fellow, Carla Miller, and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethic’s Research Director, Dr. William English. Comprised of two presentations, English’s segment of the Lab seminar, “Government Ethics: Past, Present, and Future” provided interesting perspectives on government ethics and education, while Miller’s presentation focused on her career as an ethics official in Florida and her efforts to address institutional corruption in local government. As a former Lab Fellow, English's research centers on the ethical...
Early in my career as a federal prosecutor I discovered that corruption in government remains a serious problem in the U.S. and, as the Ethics Director for the City of Jacksonville, I’ve come to understand that temptations to use government offices for private ends are subtle and widespread.... Read more about Practical Tools to Fight Government Corruption
Over 90,000 voters in Jacksonville, Florida approved a referendum yesterday expanding the role of the city's Inspector General. Closed since 2011, when the City Council eliminated its budget, the newly-reinstated, independent office will have the authority to investigate local agencies. Carla Miller, a Network Fellow at the Center, Jacksonville's Ethics Director, and author of the referendum will again be able to focus on ethics issues as the Inspector General's office takes...
January 21, 2010 was a watershed day in U.S. political history—it was the day the Supreme Court decided Citizens United. For four years we have witnessed and studied the effects of the Court's blessing of unlimited independent campaign expenditures by corporations.
In his article “On the Edge,”[1] Gregg Fields wrote about the recent criminal case filed against SAC Capitol Advisors and noted a shift in that the indictment “criminalizes corrupt corporate cultures.” Interestingly, after the indictment, SAC bragged about its “strong culture of compliance” in a New York Times article. SAC even went so far as to say their compliance program was “cutting edge,” and cost tens of millions of dollars with 38 staff, including top-notch lawyers and consultants. Reporter James Stewart asked “Which sets up the question: What were they doing?”[2] Indeed, what were they doing?
My favorite fairytale when I was growing up was the famous Hans Christian Andersen story, The Emperor’s New Clothes. In it, people deny the obvious fact that the Emperor was naked; they had to applaud his “new clothes” or they would be considered stupid by the group. And then a young child cries out “but the emperor is naked.” I wanted to be that little child. I wanted to be brave when I saw something wasn’t right, to shout out, not whisper, until others saw the truth. Years later, I got my chance, starting as a federal prosecutor.
