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Texas Judge Admonished for Advancing Harriet Miers Nomination to Media

By Jeralyn, Section Judiciary
Posted on Tue May 23, 2006 at 02:56:48 PM EST
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Remember Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht who served as the Administration's unofficial spokesman in advancing Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court? (Background here.)

He has been admonished for his conduct by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct which issued a public admonition to him for his media comments.

Last fall Hecht estimated that he gave 120 interviews to the press about Miers' qualifications for the bench -- including information about her religious beliefs and views on abortion -- after her Oct. 3, 2005, nomination came under attack from conservative groups. [See "Texas Attorneys Support Dallas Native's High Court Nomination," Texas Lawyer, Oct. 10, 2005, page 1.]

At that time, Hecht jokingly said to Texas Lawyer that he had been acting as a "PR office for the White House" and had been filling in gaps about Miers' background to the press, countering some conservatives' skepticism about her qualifications -- statements that were referenced in the commission's admonition. [See the commission's admonition.]

Judge Hecht will challenge the admonition:

In a statement, Hecht says he disagrees with the commission's admonition and he plans to challenge it.

"I believe that my statements on matters of national public interest did not offend canons of judicial ethics and were fully protected by the First Amendment as core speech," Hecht says. "As best I can determine, the Commission's action is unprecedented despite many judges, over the years, providing factual information and endorsements to the judiciary committee and the public concerning nominees to the federal bench."

Hat tip to reader DG.

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    • Texas Judge Admonished for Advancing Harriet Miers Nomination to Media | 1 comment (1 topical)
    Re: Texas Judge Admonished for Advancing Harriet M (none / 0) (#1)
    by scribe on Tue May 23, 2006 at 03:14:22 PM EST
    Well, the justice is factually wrong - it was "unprecedented" for all those Third Circuit judges to go to Capitol Hill to tell how great a guy Strip-Search Sammy is. Please, the politicization of the judiciary is bad enough as it is.

    Texas Judge Admonished for Advancing Harriet Miers Nomination to Media | 1 comment (1 topical)