Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service

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This text addresses the need for a comprehensive statement of ethical behaviour for public officials and employees at every level of government in the United States. Recognising the need for legal reforms that focus mainly on campaign contributions, the authors examine the broader question of how we should measure the routine, day-to-day ethics of men and women in public service. By focusing more on attitudes and practices, the authors suggest that the highest standard of both ethics and competence should be demanded of all our public servants. The book identifies situations in which officials ought to act cautiously and presents the ethical rules that should be applied to each situation. The text presents a philosophy of public service and then moves to particular situations to which this philosophy must be applied: campaign finance; the campaign itself; behaviour of elected officials, appointed officials, and public employees; the role of lobbyists; compensation for public servants; moving to and from the public and private sectors; ethical guidelines for lawyers and judges; the private lives of public servants; and enforcement of ethics. The final chapter discusses the sometimes competing forces of ethics and competency. Ethical guidelines are gathered in the appendix and serve as a useful starting point for ethics in any public service setting. .

Reviews

"Honest Government presents issues that every public servant should espouse. The book is a thorough and thoughtful analysis of ethical standards that are of extreme importance in our ever evolving society."- Jimmy Carter
"Mike Cody and Richard Lynn have done us all a great service by producing this timely and insightful book on how best to foster ethics in government. With an effective blend of principle and pragmatism, the book skillfully explores the ethical issues faced by public servants at every level of government. This excellent book is a primer on ethical behavior which should be read by every public official and every citizen who cares about preserving and expanding our best traditions of honest, effective government."-Robert Abrams New York State Attorney General
"The book will be helpful to anyone running for office or about to be appointed to office."- Lamar Alexander former Governor of Tennessee Secretary of Education in the Bush Cabinet
"This book will make excellent and efficient assigned reading in ethics' courses. I would assign Honest Government along with Machiavelli's The Prince, giving students a starting point for the all-important class discussions. It is a well written, concise summary of the position of the good government' lobby on the subject of ethics. The language is crisp, clear, and to the point, avoiding both jargon and needlessly complex prose."-Richard Neely Supreme Court of Appeals, West Virginia

Author Bio

W. J. MICHAEL CODY practices law in Memphis, Tennessee, as a senior partner in the firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson. He was formerly a member of the Memphis City Council, a candidate for Mayor of Memphis, U.S. Attorney General for the Western District of Tennessee, and Attorney General for the State of Tennessee. Mr. Cody was on Jimmy Carter's 1976 National Steering Committee for the Presidential campaign and coordinated the campaign in West Tennessee. RICHARDSON R. LYNN is a Professor of Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. In addition to teaching at various law schools, he served as Professor of Business Law and Ethics at the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business in Nashville.