T. Scott Boatright, Reporter
11-22-2009
t didn’t surprise Joe Bleich when the state Board of Ethics formally asked the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal earlier this week to review a decision by a panel of administrative law judges that dismissed conflict-of-interest charges against state Rep. Rick Gallot of Grambling.But that doesn’t mean Bleich believes the review request is right.
In September, the administrative law judges ruled that the ethics board took too long to prosecute seven allegations that Gallot violated state law by being the attorney for Black and Gold Facilities Inc. in business dealings with Grambling State University and the University of Louisiana System’s Board of Supervisors, on which his mother, Mildred Gallot, serves.
I“I expected it,” Bleich said of the review request. “I told Rick before the first hearing that if we win, which we should — mark my words, they’re going to appeal the decision.”
Bleich and Gallot contend that the Ethics Board is overstepping its bounds in requesting a review. They say state law gives the administrative law judges authority to make the final decision in the case, and, according to state law, although an accused party can appeal, a state office does not have that right.
“We take the position that the law is crystal clear,” Bleich said. “Legally, this request is without any basis. The Board of Ethics isn’t a human being but a mechanism. It doesn’t have the right make such a request after a judge has ruled.”
Bleich has filed an opposition brief to the board’s request and the state House of Representatives has filed a brief in support of Gallot.
“I’ve asked for sanctions against the Board and counsel,” Bleich said.
A spokeswoman for the Ethics Board said the board would let the appeals court filing speak for itself.
Gallot is chairman of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee. He took the lead on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s ethics law package in 2008.
Board Chairman Frank Simoneaux has said the law giving the administrative law judges the responsibility of deciding whether the state ethics code has been violated is not working. He wants lawmakers to return that authority to the ethics board.
Gallot said the ethics board’s continued pursuit of the case is an “abuse of power.”
“I think it’s unfortunate the board of ethics is trying to change the law or challenge the law rather than apply it as written,” Gallot said.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal can decide to dismiss the board’s request for a review or set a hearing.
“If they don’t like the statute, they need to try and change the statute,” Bleich said. “But the way it’s worded now, this shouldn’t be happening and that’s why we feel good about the eventual outcome.”
Other Top Stories
