In March 1988, Burns, together with the head of the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division William Weld and four aides, resigned from office in protest of what they viewed as improper conduct by Attorney General Meese, including personal financial indiscretions.

[1] In July 1988, Burns and Weld jointly testified before the U.S. Congress in support of a potential prosecution of Meese following an investigation by a special prosecutor, who had declined to file charges.

[1] Burns joined Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn for approximately a decade after leaving the Justice Department.

[2] In 1993, Burns and a Canadian lawyer, Yves Fortier, were asked to investigate a controversy concerning the Hockey Hall of Fame.

[3] Arnold Burns died from cardiac arrest and complications of Parkinson's disease in Manhattan, New York City, on October 1, 2013, at the age of 83.