In hearing a case on recusal rules and the First Amendment, the Supreme Court seemed to doubt that conflict of interest rules could run afoul of the First Amendment. The case concerned a Sparks city council member reprimanded for casting a vote on a issue involving his campaign manager.
The man’s lawyer argued that not all ethics laws were unconstitutional but that the Nevada law was vague and excessively far-reaching to the point of denying freedom of association and his client’s free speech rights. -db
From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, April 27, 2011, by Kacey Deamer.