Ex-San Jose mayor Chuck Reed won a $106,173 settlement with the state of California to pay his legal costs in contesting a $1 fine for allegedly moving $100,000 from his pension reform political committee to the campaign fund of a city council ally. Reed argued that the fine was a violation of his free speech rights. Reed had consulted the California Fair Political Practices Committee before he moved the funds, hence the light fine. (San Jose Mercury News, June 3, 2015, by RGIWARGIS)
The Sacramento Superior Court ruled for Reed that the fine violated his free speech rights. Reed could have paid the $1 fine and moved on but thought it was worth the legal battle on principle. (San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2015, by Melody Gutierrez)