Wright, who was elected to the state Senate on Nov. 4, 2008, was convicted of misleading voters in the 25th Senate district on grounds his true residence was in Baldwin Hills which is in the 26th district. A jury in January found Wright guilty of all eight felony counts: two counts of perjury, one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy and five counts of fraudulent voting in elections in 2008 and 2009.

Wright is reportedly preparing an appeal...but for how long will be continue to remain a member of the state Senate and continue to collect his roughly $95,000 annual salary? In March 2014, his Senate colleagues (majority Democrats) voted to "suspend" him -- preventing him from doing legislative work but letting him continue to collect his sizable Senate pay.

After Wright was sentenced -- meaning the trial judge had let stand the jury verdict -- outgoing state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D., Sacramento) urged Wright to resign. "Senator Wright has a right to appeal as a citizen, but his constituents cannot continue without representation in the state Senate. I have stated from the beginning my belief that somebody convicted of a felony while in office cannot continue to serve. I have therefore asked Senator Wright to resign," Steinberg said.

Senate Republicans (in the numerical minority) wanted Wright to go months ago, but Dems sent the Repub proposal to the Senate Rules Committee (chaired by Steinberg) where it would go nowhere. Following Wright's sentencing, Repub lieader Bob Huff (R., Diamond Bar) again urged Wright to step down.

But if Wright doesn't resign, will the state Senate (with Dems in the numerical majority) vote to expel him? The Senate has adjourned until December 1. When it resumes meeting, it will be under a new state Senate President Pro Tem, Senator Kevin de Leon (D., Los Angeles.) LATimes.com reports that Senator de Leon has said he spoke with Senator Wright "and I have every hope and expectation that he will do the right thing for his constituents and for the State Senate as an institution."

But does the state Senate have to do anything to remove Wright? A story by Laurel Rosenhall on SacBee.com (here) raises the possibility that a provision of the state constitution may have already stripped Wright of his Senatorial powers:

Article 7, Section 8 of the CA Constitution provides in pertinent part:

...(b) Laws shall be made to exclude persons convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, malfeasance in office, or other high crimes from office or serving on juries. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice."

[SacBee.com text] ...Rick Hasen, a professor at UC Irvine and an expert in election law, said that based on a 1977 court ruling, he thinks Wright is automatically vacated from office based on the judge’s verdict Friday [Sept. 12].

In a case challenging whether former Lt. Gov. Ed Reinecke’s perjury conviction became official when the jury found him guilty in July 1974 or when the judge upheld the jury’s verdict in October 1974, the Court of Appeal wrote that the conviction happened when the judge ruled:

"Thus, on October 2, 1974, and not before, Lieutenant Governor Reinecke automatically forfeited his office and his rights and powers incident thereto. That forfeiture created a vacancy."

Will CA Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Democrat, take a position on the matter?

If Wright were to resign or be expelled by Senate vote or otherwise declared ineligible to remain in office, it would create a vacancy, and Governor Brown could call a special electionn, enabling voters to choose a new state Senator.

In November 2012, voters reelected Wright to the newly drawn 35th state Senate seat district while he was facing the criminal charges. He's one of three state Senate Democrats who've recently faced faced felony charges. The other two (on different charges and not yet tried) are state Senator Leland Yee (D., SF) and Ron Calderson (D., Montebello.)