Ethics Board Taps Administrative Judges
by SARAH CHACKO - Advocate (excerpt)

The Louisiana Board of Ethics once had the power to determine whether an ethics violation occurred. But Gov. Bobby Jindal and state lawmakers earlier this year shifted that power to the administrative law judges. They don’t work for the board, and are selected by an appointee of the governor.

The seven names were chosen from among 11 judges who met the qualifications set in law to hear ethics cases. A member of the Ethics Board staff pulled pieces of paper containing the names out of a small wicker basket to decide the panels. One panel will include Robert Aguiluz, Debra Basile and Michael Domingue. The other panel will include Charles Perrault, William Cooper and Lynn Lightfoot. John Kopynec will be the alternate.

The Ethics Board, however, delayed their decision on naming a chief ethics administrator — a job that’s been vacant since late June as mass resignations hit the board.