High jinks in high places
One can wonder about the ethical lapses of both the chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the lieutenant governor of Vermont, both revealed in the same issue of the Valley News on Sept. 16.
Gordon McDonald resigned his role as the highest-ranking justice in the state for giving a long-time ally a series of favored positions in the court, breaking ethics rules. Over in Vermont, the lieutenant governor, who already has a license to grow cannabis plants (an interesting line of work itself ), but neglected to mention that he had expanded his operations without telling the State control board he had done so.
At a time of lowered ethics everywhere, these actions diminish the needed respect that these important positions require. Is there no further action that the respective states of New Hampshire and Vermont to make it more risky for future holders of Supreme Court justices and the second-ranking person in the state administration? I hope so!