The New York Times-20080124-Texas- Justice Says He Used Campaign Money For Trips- -Brief-

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Texas: Justice Says He Used Campaign Money For Trips; [Brief]

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A Texas Supreme Court justice, Nathan L. Hecht, said he used campaign money to pay for dozens of flights to his hometown last year because he was campaigning, even though he is not up for re-election until 2012. Justice Hecht, who is elected statewide, reported 42 payments to airlines for in-state trips last year and acknowledged that a good bit of the travel was to his hometown, Carrollton, where he still owns a home. Using political contributions for personal use is against state law, and the Texas Ethics Commission has interpreted the law to ban appellate judges from using donations to pay for commuting between the judge's home city and the city where the court is situated.