Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Justice Hecht Shows New Ethical Lapse


Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht got himself in some legal and ethical trouble a while back. He used his position on the state court to back his one-time girlfriend, Harriet Miers, for a position on the United States Supreme Court. Turned out that wasn't exactly kosher, and he racked up over $300,000 in legal fees defending himself.

He tried to get the legislature to pay his legal fees for him, but when the legislature found out what else he was doing that turned out to be too much even for the Republicans. The legislature dropped the bill.

What was he doing? He was begging for donations from private sources. This might have been alright, except those private donations came in large part from huge law firms -- law firms that regularly appear before the Texas Supreme Court.

Amazing! Did it never occur to him that at the very least, this had the appearance of serious impropriety? How can he hear cases presented by attorneys who have donated thousands of dollars to get him out of trouble?

It certainly looks like he is covering one ethical lapse by creating another. Judge Hecht is an embarrassment to Texas and to its Supreme Court.

It is time for Judge Hecht to resign before he damages what little credibility the Republican-controlled court has left.

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