Coppedge: Do ethics and a moral compass matter?; Longview News-Journal, July 2, 2023

Dr. John Coppedge , Longview News-Journal; Coppedge: Do ethics and a moral compass matter?

[Kip Currier: The Mont Blanc pen part of this article is a jaw-dropping example of ethical decision-making in the moment. (A good defense lawyer could, I suppose, assert that the accused pen purloiner absent-mindedly picked up the pen or mistakenly thought it was his...but this is still a thought-provoking ethics example.)

American philosopher Aldo Leopold famously opined that "ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching -- even when doing the wrong thing is legal."

In this instance, someone was watching: albeit a surveillance camera.]

"If you came upon an expensive fountain pen someone left on a security tray at your local courthouse, you would be confronted by an ethical dilemma. Would you have a duty to turn it in? Or would you pocket the pen for your personal use?

That was the ethical question confronting then state Sen. Ken Paxton (the recently impeached Texas attorney general) at the Collin County Courthouse. The item in question was a Mont Blanc pen. He chose to keep it.

Backing up a bit, the person to whom the pen belonged was local attorney Joe Joplin. The pen had been a gift from his wife.

Mont Blanc pens are a status symbol, prized by many. On the Mont Blanc website, they are advertised for between $380 and $168,000, with the average price approaching $1,000. It is inconceivable to this author that someone could pick up any Mont Blanc pen and not realize it is something special, desirable and valuable.

Immediately after his hearing, Joplin, who inadvertently left the pen at the security checkpoint, rushed back to inquire if it was still there. It was gone.

Joplin then contacted Collin County Sheriff Terry Box and asked him to look at the security video recording. He did and recognized that the person coming through the security portal after Joplin and taking the pen was Ken Paxton. 

Sheriff Box had one of his deputies call Paxton saying that he was seen on security video taking the pen. Paxton admitted he had taken it. Res ipso loquitur*.

People can decide for themselves about Ken Paxton’s ethics and moral compass, or lack thereof...

Carl Sandburg is quoted as saying: “If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell."...

* "Res ipso loquitur" is a Latin term meaning the thing speaks for itself."