There is irony in the fact that a Houston judge was sanctioned for going to a law firm luncheon and eating a salad on the firm’s dime. She could have attended a fundraiser and accepted a $5,000 campaign donation from the same firm without getting in ethical trouble.

That’s one of the points made by Billy Shepherd, an attorney who represented 61st District Judge Fredericka Phillips before the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct.