Ethics Law Update

Ethics and Criminal Law: Official Misconduct

            In a case that may have a significant impact on the pending criminal trial State Representative Ray Sansom, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that in establishing that a public servant falsified an official record in a prosecution for official misconduct pursuant to Section 838.022, Florida Statutes, the state is required to prove only that the public servant “misrepresented the underlying facts on the form.”  Wasserstrom v. State, Case No. 4D08-720 ( Fla. 4^th DCA September 30, 2009), which can be found here. In motions to dismiss, Representative Sansom and the other defendants argued that misrepresentation was not sufficient to prove that an official record was falsified for the purposes of the official misconduct statute.

            In Wasserstrom the issue presented was whether a member of the Hollywood City Commission misrepresented the potential benefit that would inure to him on the required memorandum describing a voting conflict (Commission on Ethics Form 8B) from a measure being voted on the City Commission on which he abstained from voting.  The District Court held that the evidence admitted at trial was sufficient for a jury to conclude he did.

Prepared by:

Mark Herron