Clerk of Criminal District Court Arthur Morrell
says he has evidence that should clear him of a conflict-of-interest
charge stemming from his 23 years as a state representative. In 2007,
the state Ethics Board ruled that Morrell, who is an attorney, violated
conflict-of-interest rules by proposing a House concurrent resolution
which sought to modify rules used by the state Department of Health and
Hospitals when dealing with suspended mental health providers. The
board found Morrell was providing "compensated legal services" to six
of the 14 mental health providers who were then suspended. Morrell was
fined $5,000. The ruling came the year after Morrell was elected clerk
of Criminal Court and did not involve his duties as the chief elections
officer for Orleans Parish and custodian of Criminal Court records.
Morrell says he appealed the ruling without success,
then filed a public records request for information the board used
against him — after most Ethics Board members resigned en masse
to protest a reorganization of the state agency. He said the files he
obtained included an interoffice document from 2001 informing the
commission that Morrell's legal work while a state legislator was above
board. "They hid that letter from me," Morrell said last week. "If I
had done something wrong, I would have paid the fine. And I'm not going
to pay it until after the commission rules on my request for a new
trial." The Ethics Board is scheduled to hear Morrell's request for a
rehearing at 9 a.m. Friday (Nov. 20) in the LaBelle Room of the LaSalle
Building in Baton Rouge. — Allen Johnson Jr.
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