Supreme Court upholds ethics laws

Reversing the Nevada high court, the justices ruled that legislators do not have a free-speech right to vote as they choose. Therefore, the court said in a 9-0 vote, the 1st Amendment does not shield a legislator who is charged with an ethics violation.

Conflict-of-interest rules "have been commonplace for over 200 years," said Justice Antonin Scalia, and they have never been thought to infringe on the free-speech rights of lawmakers, he said.