"California State Senators Roderick Wright, Ron Calderon use campaign money to pay legal fees"

Quoted in this one in the Daily Breeze. 

But Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School, said legal defense funds aren’t all bad.

“I think that people who avail themselves in a public forum are more susceptible to suits,” Levinson said.

“Ron Calderon and Roderick Wright are not the poster children (for legal defense funds),” she said. “There are other situations to allow legislators to raise funds so they don’t have to bankrupt themselves to defend lawsuits.” Calderon has received contributions from PG and E: $7,500; Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy, a political action committee that receives most of its money from large corporations, $5,000; BNSF Railroad, $3,000; and Independent Insurance PAC, $3,000.

"Legal Defense Funds: An Ethical Dilemma?"

Jessica Levinson's latest post on KCET.org is here.

Here is an excerpt:

"[Villaraigosa] committed ethical violations and then he raised private funds to cover the costs of those violations. In essence the mayor's initial failure to disclose free tickets given to him -- very likely in attempt to curry favor with him -- has provided the mayor with yet another fundraising opportunity, and hence another crop of donors perhaps trying to curry their own favor with our city's chief executive."