The Senate will persist with its ethics inquiry into Sen. Darius Brown’s alleged behavior despite a jury finding him not guilty of misdemeanor charges on Thursday.
The Senate Rules and Ethics Committee will review all allegations, including non-criminal ones, that have been leveled against the Wilmington Democrat, according to Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola.
VERDICT:Jury finds state Sen. Darius Brown not guilty of misdemeanor charges
“Sen. Brown has been involved in multiple confrontations in public spaces over the last year, regardless of whether that behavior rose to the level of criminal conduct,” Sokola said in a statement after the verdict. “As elected representatives of the people we serve, I believe we owe it to Delawareans to hold ourselves to a higher level of accountability and conduct.”
Sokola added that he had no further comment at this time.
Brown, who was booted from two committees last year following his arrest in the spring, is not expected to regain those committee seats as a result of his acquittal, according to a Senate spokesman.
It’s unclear if he will ever regain those committee roles, regardless of the outcome of the ethics inquiry that will be led by Senate Majority Whip Tizzy Lockman, the ethics committee chair.
The committee plans to convene later this month, according to a Senate spokesman.
Brown did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
It will be the Senate’s first ethics inquiry in 35 years into Brown’s behavior. Criminal allegations don’t automatically spur ethics investigations. Senate leaders said they wouldn’t consider additional punishments against Brown until his case was adjudicated.
In May, Delaware State Police charged Brown with offensive touching and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors, after police said the senator punched an acquaintance and threw a glass of water at Taverna Rustic Italian Restaurant in Talleyville.
In the General Assembly, Brown has faced multiple punishments for the arrest and a separate incident in November where he allegedly got into a heated verbal altercation with Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, a New Castle Democrat, during a criminal justice bill-signing press event with Carney. It’s unclear what the altercation was about.
After the arrest, he was removed from the high-profile Judiciary Committee, which he used to chair.
After the November incident, leadership stripped Brown of his role on the high-profile Bond Committee, which writes the annual infrastructure spending bill, and announced they would conduct the ethics inquiry into his alleged behavior toward women.
If he had been found guilty, Brown would not have automatically lost his position as a senator.
Sarah Gamard covers government and politics for Delaware Online/The News Journal. Reach her at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGamard.
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