Wednesday, March 12, 2008

UPDATED: New report by Texans For Public Justice examines questionable spending by Texas Supreme Court

By Pegasus News wire

Updated 01:36 p.m., March 26, 2008

UPDATE: Texans For Public Justice incorrectly reported that Justice Scott Brister failed to itemize $6,805 in reimbursements that he received from his campaign account in late 2003. Justice Brister did in fact itemize those reimbursements on a separate Texas Ethics Commission form designated for that purpose. This post has been updated to reflect that.

A new study of political expenditures by the Texas Supreme Court’s nine sitting justices found evidence that two additional court members may have violated campaign laws that prohibit politicians from tapping political funds for their personal use. Texans For Public Justice’s new report, Supreme Spending: Political Expenditures by Texas’ High-Court Justices, analyzes the $6.9 million in political funds that the court’s nine current justices spent between January 2001 and July 2007.

Supreme Spending found that Justice Dale Wainwright, who was elected to the high court in November 2002, reported spending more than $7,000 in political funds to pay rent and utilities in conjunction with an apparent 2003 residence he maintained at the Gables at Town Lake, a luxury apartment development in Austin. Texas election law expressly prohibits judges from paying living expenses out of political funds.

Austin-based Texas Watch filed complaints in January urging the Texas Ethics Commission to determine if three other justices tapped political funds for their personal use. Disclosures filed by Justices Paul Green, Nathan Hecht and David Medina raise disturbing questions about whether these officials used political funds to pay their personal travel expenses.

"It’s shocking to consider that a majority of the Texas Supreme Court may have violated Texas election laws," said Texans For Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. "How did we get to the point where justices charged with upholding Texas law act as if they are above it?"

To track where the justices spent $6.9 million in political funds, Texans For Public Justice classified the justices’ 9,699 expenditures into 10 spending categories. The justices spent 72 percent of this money on Campaign-Related Expenditures. They spent 10 percent on Staff & Consultants, 7 percent on Travel & Lodging and 5 percent on Food, Drink and Events.

The court’s biggest spender was Justice Don Willett ($1,752,056), followed by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson ($1,310,740) and Justice Dale Wainwright ($1,099,382).

Source: Texans for Public Justice

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