Did Justice Nathan Hecht Break the Law?
Texas Watch—July 24th, 2007
Complaints were filed against Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht with the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, and the Texas Ethics Commission today by the citizens group Texas Watch.
The complaints center around a possibly illegal discount he received on his legal expenses arising out of his 2006 public admonition by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Justice Hecht received a discount of up to 25% on his legal fees, according to Hecht’s attorney Charles “Chip” Babcock, the former chair of the panel which developed the current standards of judicial ethics and an attorney with the Jackson Walker law firm which does business before the Texas Supreme Court. That equals a $100,000 benefit that Justice Hecht received.
“Justice Hecht’s actions merit a full and complete investigation,” said Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch a statewide citizens group that actively monitors the Texas Supreme Court. “It appears that he has abused his position as a Justice on our state’s highest court by negotiating a sweetheart deal.”
According to the complaints filed today by Texas Watch, this “discount” is either in violation of the campaign contribution limits imposed on judges by statute or it is a personal gift in violation of the Canons on Judicial Ethics and the Texas Penal Code. As such, the Public Integrity Unit, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, and the Texas Ethics Commission should all fully investigate this matter.
“No one – not even the longest serving member of the Texas Supreme Court – should be above the law,” said Winslow. “If these investigations find that Justice Hecht violated the law, he should be held accountable for his actions.”
The complaints allege the following:
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Public Integrity Unit: The Texas Penal Code prohibits judges from accepting a gift from a party who the judge knows is likely to appear before him. As Jackson Walker is a prominent law firm with numerous clients with interests that are likely to come before the Texas Supreme Court, the discount the firm gave Justice Hecht was possibly an illegal gift. A violation of this statute is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of $4,000.
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State Commission on Judicial Conduct: The discount on his legal expenses is a gift that reflects adversely on his impartiality and is a possible exploitation of his position in apparent violation of the Canons of Judicial Ethics.
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Texas Ethics Commission: The $100,000 discount that Hecht received on his legal bills is an in-kind contribution in excess of the statutory $30,000 contribution limit that law firms are permitted to donate to judges and judicial candidates. A violation of this statute is punishable by a fine of three times the amount of the illegal contribution.
BACKGROUND
Justice Nathan Hecht was admonished by the State Commission on Judicial conduct in May 2006 for abusing his position by publicly endorsing the nomination of Harriet Miers to the US Supreme Court.
Justice Nathan Hecht was admonished by the State Commission on Judicial conduct in May 2006 for abusing his position by publicly endorsing the nomination of Harriet Miers to the US Supreme Court.
Hecht appealed the admonition to a three-judge panel, accruing approximately $450,000 in legal bills. Jackson Walker discounted his legal expenses by as much as 25%. Later, Justice Hecht solicited donations to cover his legal expenses; however, he refused to reveal the names of his benefactors until he was legally obligated to do so. Among those donors were interests with business pending before him, including law firms and litigants like mega-builder Bob Perry.
Texas Watch research has revealed that Hecht ruled in favor of benefactors which contributed at least $5,000 in response to his plea for donations to his legal fund in 89% of the cases in which they were involved.
To view copies of the complaints, click the links below:
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