October 15, 2014      4:41 PM
Updated: Campaign finance watchdog files suit to force Abbott to act in Nathan Hecht Ethics case
Case has languished for nearly 6 years; group says Abbott “has a duty to prosecute this cold case and collect from Justice Hecht"
Note: Late in the day, the AG’s office responded and
this update reflects that – SB
A prominent campaign
finance watchdog group on Wednesday said a lawsuit is being filed in Travis
County to try to force Attorney General Greg
Abbott's office to go after what some have called a “long-slumbering
case" about an ethics fine against Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht. The case, by the way, has
the dubious distinction of being the longest running appeal of a state ethics
fine.
Hecht, as QR readers may recall, was fined $29,000 by the Texas
Ethics Commission back in 2008 after the agency found that he broke
campaign finance laws.
That ruling was made after
Hecht took a $168,000 discount for a legal bill incurred while he was
successfully fighting abuse-of-power charges stemming from his support for
former US Supreme Court nominee Harriet
Miers, who also happened to be his girlfriend.
Hecht appealed in State
District Court in 2009 and the case has gone quiet ever since. When someone is
fined by the Ethics Commission, they have the option of filing what’s called a
“de novo” appeal in court, which starts the process anew.
In a statement on Wednesday,
Texans
for Public Justice said the group was filing suit to try to force the Office
of the Attorney General to defend the Ethics Commission in court, as is
required by Texas law.
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