Scope: Federal (New York)
Branch: Judicial
Severity: Green
Date occurred: February 18, 2025
Phase: Feb 2025
On February 18, 2025, the New York Court of Appeals ruled 4-3 in Cuomo v. New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government that the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) does not violate separation-of-powers principles. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo had argued the commission unconstitutionally exercised executive investigatory and enforcement powers without sufficient gubernatorial oversight. The court held the legislature shares with the governor the power to appoint and remove state officers under New York's constitution, and that the commission provides a valid ethics enforcement mechanism targeted at problems inherent in executive branch self-regulation.
Constitutional basis: New York Court of Appeals applying the state's own separation-of-powers precedent (Rapp v. Carey) to preserve a valid inter-branch accountability mechanism
Sources
- Justia
- Greenberg Traurig LLP
- State Court Report