| ► Ex-Judge Levi Benton of Houston; scofflaw, ethically insolvent |
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Ex-Judge Levi Benton of Houston; scofflaw, ethically insolvent
Up until late 2008, Judge Levi Benton sat on the 215th District Court in Houston.
Texas Ethics Laws limits the expenditure of campaigns funds to legitimate campaign activities and/or official officeholder duties. In other words, campaign funds cannot be used for purposes that are clearly personal in nature.
Illegal expense for Magazine subscription by Judge Levi Benton
The Texas Ethics Commission recently fined Judge Adolph Canales for illegally using campaign funds to pay subscription costs that were clearly personal. In its ruling, the Commission stated:
The commission also stated in EAO 432 that political contributions cannot be used to pay for general education. In the respondent’s case, the reading of the Wall Street Journal is not necessary to maintaining a law license or fulfilling legal education requirements. In addition, there is no evidence provided by the respondent that the access to the Wall Street Journal primarily furthers the respondent’s duties or activities as an officeholder. Rather, it appears that the subscription primarily furthers personal purposes and is not connected with a senior judge’s duties or activities as an officeholder. Therefore, there is credible evidence that the respondent violated section 253.035(a) of the Election Code in connection with the use of the paper publication of the Wall Street Journal at the respondent’s residence and the online access to the Wall Street Journal.
Despite this prohibition, Judge Levi Benton used campaign funds for the following:
There can be no dispute that this expenditure of campaign funds by Judge Levi Benton was improper and violated the Texas Ethics Laws. Of course it would be foolish for anyone to argue that Judge Levi Benton should have known what the law was, right?
Who did the publisher mail this magazine too? Maybe that’s a little tough for the investigators at the Texas Ethics Commission to figure out, right? It would damn sure be the first thing I’d investigate. And if it was mailed to the judge’s home, I’d ask the DA to prosecute him even though we know judges are held to a “lower standard of conduct” than we are, right?
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