Thomas Wright will soon be doing the courthouse strut, that latest dance craze so popular with some N.C. House members.

The New Hanover County legislator was indicted recently on charges of fraud and obstruction of justice following an investigation into his campaign finances, a foundation that he ran and a loan obtained under fairly odd circumstances.

In response, fellow Democrat and N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney put the wheels in motion to have Wright expelled from the House.

Hackney also made known why the House hadn't acted sooner: Until the indictment, Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby had asked the House to steer clear of matters involving his criminal investigation.

Now, Hackney wants to put distance between himself and the indicted and imprisoned – mainly Wright and former Speaker Jim Black. So, he's begun proceedings that could lead to the first expulsion of a legislator since 1880.

Wright, meanwhile, doesn't appear too inclined to quit. Perhaps he needs his legislative salary to help pay legal bills. Or, maybe he's just stubborn.

Whatever the case, by historical standards, these accusations seem pedestrian.

Consider the case of Josiah Turner. Expelled in 1880, Turner enjoyed calling his fellow legislators some rather nasty names, and not behind their backs. He saved the best stuff for the House speaker.

After leading a wild floor session, his fellow House members decided to censure the Orange County legislator, who also happened to be a newspaperman (imagine that).

Turner didn't take too kindly to the public scolding, let loose again and stormed out of the chamber. Before he returned, his fellow House members had voted to give him the boot.

Then there was John Clary of Perquimans County. Clary was expelled from the House in 1809 for committing a crime "so enormous as renders it unfit that he should be permitted to continue as a member," according to House records. He had an affair with his stepdaughter.

For Robert Potter of Granville County, brandishing a gun and knife during a fight after a card game undid his turn in the legislature. He was kicked out in 1835.

In 1875, J. William Thorne of Warren County was expelled for advocating a "most sacrilegious doctrine, subversive of the principles of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and of sound morality and the Constitution of the United States."

His offense? He published a pamphlet that "encouraged a want of confidence in the divine authenticity of the Holy Bible." And you thought the First Amendment protected religious freedom and free speech.

But of the 11 legislators removed from office between 1757 and 1880, some committed offenses that might sound a little familiar.

William Gilbert of Tryon County was expelled for intentionally defrauding the public, and John Bonds of Nash County enjoyed the same fate for "having drawn Monies out of the Public Treasury, the property of others, by false orders."

Common variety legislative rascals apparently are nothing new.