Ellen Yaroshefsky Appointed to New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Ellen Yaroshefsky, professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has been appointed to the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE).

As part of this appointment, Yaroshefsky will work with the 14-member board to investigate corruption in various levels of government. According to Governor Cuomo, the commission will help maintain integrity in state government. JCOPE will have expanded powers over the former Commission on Public Integrity. Their responsibilities include the power to investigate and impose penalties on executive employees and lobbyists, and to investigate potential violations of the law by legislators and legislative employees, and if violations are found, issue findings to the Legislative Ethics Commission, which will have jurisdiction to impose penalties. Yaroshefsky has rich and varied experience in ethics work. She is the co-executive director of the Jacob Burns Ethics Center in the Practice of Law at Cardozo and a member of several attorney ethics review organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Ethics, Gideon and Professionalism Committee, the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Ethics Advisory Committee. “I look forward to working with other members of the Commission to enhance accountability and respect for state government officials,” said Yaroshefsky. JCOPE consists of six members appointed by the Governor and eight members appointed by legislative leaders. The Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the Assembly each appointed three members, and the minority leaders of both houses each appointed one member. Yaroshefksy was a legislative appointment, chosen by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver '65YC.