Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 75-5 (1975) · Personal Misconduct
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
NSPE BER Case 72-6 Public Confidence Ethics Code Foundational Purpose Invocation
prevails over
NSPE BER Case 72-6 Professional Society Judiciousness Personal Conduct Discipline Caveat
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- NSPE Disciplinary Jurisdiction Over Engineer Criminal Misconduct
Featured
Engineer A Criminal Conviction Dishonesty Character Incompatibility Ethics Reporting
prevails over
Engineer A Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Repeated Criminal Conduct During Probation State
- Engineer A Theft Conviction and Probation State
Engineer B Public Professional Identification Criminal Conduct Profession Reputational Duty
prevails over
Engineer B Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer B Public Professional Identity Exposure State
- Engineer B Tax Fraud Conviction State
NSPE BER Case 72-6 Ethics Code Expansive Jurisdiction Personal Misconduct Resolution
prevails over
NSPE BER Case 72-6 Professional Society Judiciousness Personal Conduct Discipline Caveat
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- NSPE Disciplinary Jurisdiction Over Engineer Criminal Misconduct
Engineer B Criminal Conviction Dishonesty Character Incompatibility Ethics Reporting
prevails over
Engineer B Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer B Public Professional Identity Exposure State
- Engineer B Tax Fraud Conviction State
Engineer A Case 72-6 Profession Honor Dignity Personal Conduct Violation
prevails over
Engineer A Case 72-6 Criminal Conviction Employment Honest Disclosure Violation
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Theft Conviction and Probation State
Engineer A Probationary Employment Context Fraud Aggravated Ethics Violation
prevails over
Engineer A Criminal Conviction Employment Acceptance Honest Disclosure
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Whole-Person Integrity Scrutiny State
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Criminal Conviction Employment Acceptance Honest Disclosure vs Engineer A Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition
Engineer B Case 72-6 Profession Honor Dignity Personal Conduct Violation vs Engineer B Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition
What the board concluded
- Personal misconduct of the types described is a violation of the Code of Ethics.
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Engineer A Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition yields to Engineer A Criminal Conviction Dishonesty Character Incompatibility Ethics Reporting. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Recognition") recurs across cases; the obligation that overrides it and the context under which it yields differ case by case. This is the case-law move: not a single rule, but a family of context-indexed resolutions.
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
19-1
Disclosure of Personal Information
|
Engineer A 25-Year Performance Record Materiality Rebuttal Present Case | BER 75-5 Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Application | Engineer A Autism Non-Disclosure State; Engineer A Privacy vs Deception Tension State |
|
22-4
Duty to Report Misconduct
|
Engineer Doe Post-Termination Environmental Regulatory Reporting | Multi-Jurisdiction Ethics Review Obligation Engineer A Both States | Engineer A Multi-Jurisdiction Rule Stringency Differential |
|
82-5
Whistleblowing
|
Ethics Code Welfare Scope Defense Expenditure Board Recognition | Defense Expenditure Public Welfare Ethics Code Scope Recognition Engineer A Ethics Review | Non-Safety Public Fund Waste Concern — Defense Procurement |
|
24-03
Public Contracting Practices
|
Procurement Violation Corrective Action City D Engineer Post-Investigation | Ethical Conduct Obligation City D Engineer Procurement Rationalization | City D Firm Z Recent Contracts Non-Compliance State |
|
97-13
Duty To Report Unrelated Information...
|
Comparative Case Precedent Distinguishing Engineer A Bridge vs Case 89-7 | Engineer A Case 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Building Code Violation Reporting | Comparative Precedent Distinguishing — Present Case vs. Case No. 89-7 |