$3,100 will be paid by Georgia’s top judge for violation of state ethics laws. The fines to be paid by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears are part of a pair of consent orders approved by the state Ethics Commission on Thursday.
The ethics complaints come from her 2004 re-election campaign. The charges included Sears taking contributions above the state’s 5-thousand dollar legal limit--including one of 20-thousand from a law firm. Sears also admitted to some misreporting of campaign finance information.
In other decisions by the Ethics Commission: It found probable cause to look into an parts of an ethics complaint against former Democratic candidate for governor Cathy Cox. The charges involve her 2001 re-election for Secretary of State.
The ethics complaints come from her 2004 re-election campaign. The charges included Sears taking contributions above the state’s 5-thousand dollar legal limit--including one of 20-thousand from a law firm. Sears also admitted to some misreporting of campaign finance information.
In other decisions by the Ethics Commission: It found probable cause to look into an parts of an ethics complaint against former Democratic candidate for governor Cathy Cox. The charges involve her 2001 re-election for Secretary of State.
