There's no shortage of stories these days critiquing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's style and ethics, but here's one that shows the former U.S. Attorney in a kinder/gentler light. ATL's David Lat worked as an AUSA under Christie before leaving for ATL while indulging his penchant for online writing on the side. When his against-the-rules and snarky blogging about federal judges was exposed, Lat's career was on the line. Lat tendered his resignation but Christie, Lat says, was understanding and forgiving:
Christie responded graciously and with forgiveness, saying that he did not want my resignation. He had mentioned my situation to the Department of Justice powers that be in D.C., who told him that it was his call as to what to do with me, and it was his wish that I remain in the office. He told me that I had been doing very good work as an AUSA and that we should go back to business as usual
Business as usual, of course, did not include further blogging. Lat notes that he did not blog about his own cases. For a recent case on the ethics of blogging about one's cases, see this post on Hunter v. Virginia State Bar (PDF). Andrew Perlman at Legal Ethics Forum thinks the opinion may be ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review.
