| ► Judge Jeffrey Brown of Houston; scofflaw, ethical gnome |
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Judge Jeffrey Brown of Houston; scofflaw, ethical gnome
Unfortunately, Judge Jeffrey Brown sits on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston.
On March 5, 2009, the Texas Ethics Commission found Judge Adolph Canales of Dallas guilty of converting campaign funds for personal use when he repeatedly paid for subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and various magazines. (http:tinyurl.com/yhssz75)
In its ruling, the Texas Ethics Commission ruled that “the reading of the Wall Street Journal is not necessary to maintaining a law license or fulfilling legal education requirements.” The Commission went on to state that “it appears that the subscription primarily furthers personal purposes and is not connected with the senior judge’s duties or activities as an officeholder.”
From 2006 through 2009, Judge Jeffrey Brown violated Texas Ethics Laws by using campaign funds to pay $734.56 for subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal as set forth below.
Wall Street Journal
In 2007 Judge Jeffrey Brown illegally used campaign funds to pay subscription costs to purchase the New York Times as set forth below.
New York Times
As a judge one would like to think that Judge Jeffrey Brown would have had the mental capacity to appreciate and understand the prohibition against using campaign funds to pay for subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and/or the New York Times. Will we hear Judge Jeffrey Brown claim ignorance of the law as a defense? As we all know, ignorance of the law is not a valid defense; however, it is in many instances a stepping stone to higher office.
Given the fact that Judge Jeffrey Brown sat on the 55th District Court in Houston for six-years before Governor Rick Perry appointed him to the Court of Appeals in 2008, it may well be that in this case, ignorance was a stepping stone to higher office if ya know what I mean.
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