Illegal/Unethical Conduct re: TX Appellate Judge Stephen Smith of Dallas

FYI: The following complaint regarding Judge Smith has this date, November 6, 1995 been forwarded to the Texas Ethics Commission, The Texas State Bar Association, and the Texas Judicial Commission.

Re: Judge Craig Stephen Smith

Unethical/Illegal Conduct

Bar No. 18553570

5^th District Court of= Appeals

600 Commerce, 7th Fl, Ste. 200

GeorgeL. Allen Sr. Courts Building

Dallas, TX 75202

214-712-3400

To Whom it may Concern:

Judge Smith has engaged in the serial violation of Texas Campaign Expenditure Laws relating to his illegal use of campaign funds to pay personal expenses to pay Florida State Bar Dues (See Table I), Table II relates to illegal expenditures to attend a friend’s wedding in New York City. The red font relates to Smith’s time on the Court of Appeals and the blue of his tenure as a Dallas County District Court judge.

The violations of criminal statutes and the Election Code are set forth below in appropriate headings along with relevant explanations.

A.  Illegal use of Campaign Funds to pay Florida State Bar Dues (see Table I at end of details)

Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 245– Allows for a judge to use campaign expenses to pay state [Texas] bar dues; however, Smith is legally prohibited from paying Florida State Bar dues via the use of campaign funds.

Clearly a judge in Texas is not required to maintain a license to practice law in Florida no more than he/she would be required to be licensed in California, Oklahoma, or Hawaii. The laws/ethics rules regarding said conduct are set forth below.

Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 432 (ca. April 6,2001)

• “A candidate or officeholder may not use political contributions to pay a license fee unless the license is required for the office held or sought.”
• Implicit in our conclusion was the view that a candidate or officeholder may not use political contributions to pay a license fee if the license is not required for the office held or sought.”

Judge Smiths year’s long use of campaign funds to pay Florida State Bar dues is a blatant violation of Texas law and is therefore constitutes Seventeen (17) separate and distinct Class A misdemeanors. The same is true for the three (3) misdemeanors relating to him attending a friend’s wedding.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine not to exceed $4,000.00; confinement in jail not to exceed one year. Therefore, a guilty finding would or could subject Judge Smith to a total of $60,000.00 in fines, and a jail sentence of fifteen (15) years.

It would be comical at best for Judge Smith to proclaim ignorance of the law in defending the serial violations set forth herein. This is especially true since he’s been a judge for the past twenty-four (24) years.

Table I - Illegal Florida Bar Dues

All that’s left now is to see what if any punishment is bestowed on Judge Smith by the State Bar, Judicial Commission, Ethics Commission or the Travis County DA.