Nathan Hecht (R)
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - The Texas Ethics Commission today is considering a complaint filed last year against state Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht.
The justice is accused by a judicial watchdog group of accepting a discount for legal services that was tantamount to an illegal campaign contribution.
Hecht, who was elected to the state high court in 1988, has denied any wrongdoing.
Austin-based Texas Watch filed the lawsuit, claiming the Republican justice failed to report the lowered legal fees he received from a law firm as an in-kind political contribution.
The complaint stems from Hecht's representation by the Jackson Walker law firm in a dispute with the Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2006 over his promoting President George W. Bush's short-lived nomination of former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.