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May 9, 2006
DO-06-014
MEMORANDUM
TO:
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Designated Agency Ethics Officials
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FROM:
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Marilyn L. Glynn
Acting Director
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SUBJECT:
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Court of Appeals Upholds OGE Rule on Teaching, Speaking and Writing
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On May 3, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court in Wolfe v. Barnhart, upholding the validity of 5 C.F.R. § 2635.807(a) against a first amendment challenge by an administrative law judge (ALJ) of the Social Security Administration (SSA). See Wolfe v. Barnhart, No. 04-5194, available at http://pacer.ca10.uscourts.gov/pdf/04-5194.pdf, and http://www.kscourts.org/CA10/cases/2006/05/04-5194.htm. The Court also upheld the interpretation of the Office of Government Ethics that the rule prohibited the ALJ from receiving royalties for a book he co-authored about the SSA disability adjudication process, notwithstanding the fact that the ALJ may have acquired expertise on the subject prior to his employment by SSA.