Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht is challenging the decision of another state commission. On Jan. 27, Hecht filed an appeal of the Texas Ethics Commission’s December 2008 decision that Hecht violated state election laws by accepting and not reporting more than $100,000 in free legal services provided by Jackson Walker . TEC fined Hecht $29,000 for the violations. But Hecht alleges in his petition in Hecht v. Texas Ethics Commission, filed in Austin’s 250th District Court, that TEC’s decision creates a legal fee structure only for judges. Hecht further alleges, “Under this new structure, adjustments to legal bills to establish a reasonable fee turn into improper campaign contributions. At the same time, representation of a Texas judge for free does not violate the Election Code. This distinction makes no sense.” Texas Election Code §254.033 provides that a political contribution consisting of an individual’s personal services does not have to be reported if the individual received no compensation for the services. However, Election Code §§253.155 and 253.157 set a $5,000 limit on the amount of contributions a judge or judicial candidate can accept and a $30,000 limit on the amount accepted from a firm. Charles “Chip” Babcock , a partner in Jackson Walker in Houston and Dallas, had represented Hecht in 2006 when the justice successfully challenged the State Commission on Judicial Conduct ‘s public admonition of him for his public support of Harriet Miers ‘ nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Miers, now a partner in Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell , eventually withdraw her name from consideration for the Supreme Court seat. Hecht did not return a telephone call seeking comment before presstime on Jan. 29. Steve McConnico , Hecht’s attorney and a partner in Austin’s Scott, Douglass & McConnico , and Tim Sorrells , the TEC’s deputy general counsel, decline comment. Alex Winslow, executive director of government watchdog group Texas Watch, who filed the complaint against Hecht with the TEC in 2007, says he respects Hecht’s right to appeal the decision. “I believe ultimately our complaint will be upheld and Justice Hecht will be held accountable for his actions,” Winslow says.
O’Connor at the 5th Circuit
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will sit on a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that will hear arguments in seven cases Feb. 2-3. She will join 5th Circuit Judges Jacques L. Wiener Jr. and Carl E. Stewart on the panel. According to the 5th Circuit’s Web site, the panel will hear arguments beginning at 1 p.m. Feb. 2 at the 5th Circuit and beginning at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 3 in Room 110 of the John Giffen Weinmann Hall at Tulane University. Charles R. “Fritz” Fulbruge , the 5th Circuit’s clerk, says O’Connor is not the first former Supreme Court justice to sit for arguments at the appeals court in New Orleans. Fulbruge says former Justice Byron White , who sat on the high court from 1962-1993, heard cases at the 5th Circuit a couple of times. However, the stage is set for a reunion of sorts during O’Connor’s visit. On Feb. 3, Allyson Ho , one of O’Connor’s former law clerks, will sit second chair for arguments in Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. O’Connor is not on the panel for Ho’s case. Ho, a partner in Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Houston, says she clerked for O’Connor from 2002-2003. She also clerked for Wiener at the 5th Circuit, according to the Morgan, Lewis Web site. Ho’s husband, Texas Solicitor General James C. Ho , also will argue at the 5th Circuit on Feb. 3, representing the state in Croft, et al. v. Perry , et al. , another case O’Connor will not hear. The Croft case involves a challenge to the state’s “minute of silence” statute that requires Texas school districts to afford a brief period at the beginning of each day when students can “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.” [See "Prayer for Relief," page 1.] While at the 5th Circuit, James Ho may get a chance to visit with his predecessor, Ted Cruz , the state’s former solicitor general who now is a Morgan, Lewis partner in Houston. Cruz will be arguing in the Kimberly-Clark case. [See "So Far, Three Express Interest in AG Race If Abbott Doesn't Run."]
