SACRAMENTO — The California Supreme Court gave the green light Tuesday for Gov. Jerry Brown to pardon former state Sen. Roderick Wright, a Los Angeles-area Democrat who was convicted four years ago of perjury and voter fraud.

The state’s high court does not take a position on whether Brown should grant clemency. Instead, justices decide whether there is sufficient support for a pardon should the governor decide to grant one. In Wright’s case, the justices said there was.

Brown sought the court’s opinion, with his attorney Peter Krause writing: “Sen. Wright has devoted much of his life to public service, including serving six years in the California state Senate and six years in the California Assembly.”

Wright was convicted in 2014 of perjury and voter fraud after prosecutors said he lied about living in the Senate district that elected him in 2008. He served an hour in jail and 2½ years of probation. In addition, he was barred from running for office because of the felony convictions.

In September, Brown signed SB1250, changing residency rules for the 120 lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly. The bill allows lawmakers to live outside their district and instead uses their voter registration address for determining whether they are eligible for certain offices.

Had the bill been in place at the time Wright was in the Senate, he could legally have lived outside his district.

Wright returned to the Capitol this year as a lobbyist.

Melody Gutierrez is the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sacramento bureau chief. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez