You're the judge.Defense AT & L presents the first in a new series featuring cases that center on ethical dilemmas An ethical dilemma is a situation that will often involve an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox , and invites you to be the judge. What would you do in similar situations? (Remember that if you're faced with an ethical quandary, before taking any action, you're strongly encouraged to consult with your general counsel or, if in the military, your judge advocate general judge advocate general (J.A.G.) n. a military officer who advises the government on courts-martial and administers the conduct of courts-martial. The officers who are judge advocates and counsel assigned to the accused come from the office of the judge advocate representative.) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lonette Bryan served as a contract specialist at the General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) was established by section 101 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C.A. § 751). The GSA sets policy for and manages government property and records. from December 1997 to November 2002. As a full-time federal employee, she was responsible for overseeing the proposal, award, administration, modification, renewal, and termination of the Software Professionals, Inc. contract with the federal government. Software Professionals, Inc. provided computer technology professionals to the federal government on a contract basis for five years. The contract expired ex·pire v. ex·pired, ex·pir·ing, ex·pires v.intr. 1. To come to an end; terminate: My membership in the club has expired. 2. in April 2003. Bryan terminated her employment with GSA (1) (Global mobile Suppliers Association, Sawbridgeworth, U.K., www.gsacom.com) A membership organization of suppliers of GSM products and services. Its goal is to promote GSM as the worldwide mobile communications standard. See GSM Association and GSM. in November 2002 and began working for Software Professionals in February 2003. Between March and August 2003, Bryan, on behalf of Software Professionals, met with personnel in her old office at GSA several times, seeking to extend the term of the contract that she had worked on while at GSA. Later, she tried to persuade GSA to award Software Professionals a new contract. You're the judge: Does Ms. Bryan have a problem here? Did she commit a crime? Yes, Ms. Bryan has a problem, and she did commit a crime. On April 7, 2004, Bryan pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. [section] 207(a)(1), one of the post-government service employment communication restrictions. The Eastern District of Virginia Virginia, state, United States Virginia, state of the south-central United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), North Carolina and Tennessee (S), Kentucky and West Virginia (W), and Maryland and the District of Columbia (N and NE). handled the prosecution. This law prohibits former federal personnel from representing someone else before the federal government on particular matters involving specific parties that he or she worked on personally and substantially while in the federal government with the intent to influence the government's decision. In her official capacity, Bryan worked on the contract between the government and Software Professionals and its terms, including termination. She didn't commit a crime when she went to work for Software Professionals. Only when she represented Software Professionals before the government to extend the term of the existing contract did she violate 18 U.S.C. 207(a)(1) because it was a matter she had originally negotiated as a federal employee. On July 23, 2004, Bryan was sentenced to two years' supervised su·per·vise tr.v. su·per·vised, su·per·vis·ing, su·per·vis·es To have the charge and direction of; superintend. [Middle English *supervisen, from Medieval Latin probation probation, method by which the punishment of a convicted offender is conditionally suspended. The offender must remain in the community and under the supervision of a probation officer, who is usually a court-appointed official. , substance abuse treatment, and a special assessment. |
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