Siplin v. Commission on Ethics

This cause is an appeal from a final administrative order issued by the Florida Commission on Ethics (“Commission”), concluding that Gary Siplin violated section 112.313(6), Florida Statutes (2006), by asserting his position- as a state senator to bully a deputy sheriff into permitting him access to a stadium parking lot through a barricaded roadway. We reverse.

Annually, Florida A & M University and Bethune-Cookman University play a football game at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, an event known as the Florida Classic. The Florida Classic is, in effect, a yearly festival for students,…