Hodgson Russ Obtains Second Circuit Success in Constitutional Claims Against Ethics Board

On behalf of a county ethics board, Hodgson Russ attorneys defeated Due Process and First Amendment claims along with a state statutory claim brought by a former county legislator. After the legislator was fined by the ethics board for submitting an inaccurate financial report, he sued, asserting the board’s procedures failed to provide adequate notice or opportunity to be heard. 

He also claimed that his First Amendment rights were violated by the alleged political motivation of the county and the board. First at the District Court level and again at the Second Circuit, Hodgson Russ obtained summary judgment for the county rejecting all constitutional claims and upholding the Board’s action.