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Nathan Hecht
Nathan Hecht (Republican Party) was a judge for Place 1, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He assumed office on October 1, 2013. He left office on December 31, 2024.
Hecht (Republican Party) ran for re-election for the Place 1, Chief Justice judge of the Texas Supreme Court. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
In Texas, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. He was elected as chief justice in 2014 and re-elected in 2020.[1]
Hecht first became a member of the Texas Supreme Court through a partisan election. He was first elected to the court as an associate justice in 1988.[1] To read more about judicial selection in Texas, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[2] Hecht received a confidence score of Strong Republican.[3] Click here to read more about this study.
Hecht retired on December 31, 2024, after reaching the mandatory retirement age. To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
Biography
Hecht received his B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and his law degree from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.[4] Hecht has clerked for Judge Roger Robb of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve, worked in private practice, and, from 1981 to 1986, served on the 95th District Court. In 1986, Hecht was elected to the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals, where he remained until he was elected to the Texas Supreme Court.[5]
Hecht has served as a member of the American Law Institute and a fellow for the American Bar Association.[5]
Elections
2020
See also: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2020
General election
General election for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice
Incumbent Nathan Hecht defeated Amy Clark Meachum and Mark Ash in the general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nathan Hecht (R) | 53.0 | 5,827,085 |
 | Amy Clark Meachum (D) | 44.5 | 4,893,402 | |
 | Mark Ash (L) | 2.5 | 277,491 | |
| Total votes: 10,997,978 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice
Amy Clark Meachum defeated Jerry Zimmerer in the Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy Clark Meachum | 80.5 | 1,434,175 |
 | Jerry Zimmerer | 19.5 | 347,186 | |
| Total votes: 1,781,361 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- William McLeod (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice
Incumbent Nathan Hecht advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nathan Hecht | 100.0 | 1,718,096 |
| Total votes: 1,718,096 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Green convention
Green convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice
Charles E. Waterbury advanced from the Green convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice on April 18, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ |  | Charles E. Waterbury (G) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice
Mark Ash advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice on August 3, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Ash (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2014
For in-depth coverage of the state's high court races, see: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2014 and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2014
See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Hecht ran for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court.
Primary: He was successful in the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, receiving 60.5 percent of the vote. He competed against Robert Talton.
General: He defeated William Moody (Democratic) and Tom Oxford (Libertarian) in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 59.7 percent of the vote.
[6][7]
Judicial poll
Below are the results of the 2014 judicial poll, conducted by the State Bar of Texas, which asked attorneys to cast a vote in favor of their preferred candidate in each appellate race.[8]
| Chief Justice | |
| Candidate: | Votes: |
|---|---|
| Nathan Hecht | 5945 |
| William Moody | 2681 |
| Tom Oxford | 1013 |
| Robert Talton | 1164 |
Endorsements
|
Organizations
|
|
Former colleagues
|
2012
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012
Hecht ran unopposed in the Republican primary on May 29. He defeated Michele Petty, Mark Ash and Jim Chisholm in the November 6, 2012, general election for Place 6 of the Texas Supreme Court, earning 53.7% of the vote.[10][11][12]
In an email sent to Judgepedia from Hecht's campaign on September 27, 2012, Hecht is quoted saying,
| “ | This race is important to preserve experience and leadership on the Supreme Court of Texas. For 23 years, I have followed the law fairly and consistently and helped develop rules of practice and administration to reduce the expense and delay of going to court. I have also worked to obtain critical funding for legal services, trying to assure that Texas’ poorest citizens have access to the justice system. If elected, I will continue to work for more efficient courts and better access to justice.[13][14] | ” |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Nathan Hecht did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[15]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[16]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Nathan
Hecht
Texas
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Republican
- Donated over $2,000 to Republican candidates
- Received donations from Republican-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
Hecht ran as a Republican when he was elected to the Texas Supreme Court. His campaign committee donated $2,810 to Republican candidates. He received $25,000 from Vinson & Elkins Texas PAC, $10,000 from United Services Automobile Association Employee PAC, and $10,000 from Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP Texas Committee, all of which contribute more frequently to Republican candidates than Democrats. Hecht received endorsements from multiple organizations affiliated with the Republican party, including the Young Conservatives of Texas, Texas Right to Life PAC, and the Texas Alliance for Life PAC.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Hecht received a campaign finance score of 0.97, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.91 that justices received in Texas.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[17]
Noteworthy events
Miers controversy
In May 2006, Justice Hecht was disciplined by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct for improperly using his office and position to promote the interests of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. A three-judge panel exonerated Hecht of the charge on appeal. The New York Times reported that Hecht had "described Ms. Miers's opposition to abortion rights in a conference call with the executive committee of the Arlington Group, a coalition of Christian conservative groups."[18][19][20]
State supreme court judicial selection in Texas
- See also: Judicial selection in Texas
The nine justices of the Texas Supreme Court are selected in statewide partisan elections. The elected justices serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[21]
Qualifications
To serve on the Supreme Court, a justice must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a resident of Texas;
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- between the ages of 35 and 75;[22][23] and
- a practicing lawyer and/or justice for at least 10 years.[21]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court is selected by voters at large. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.[21]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement who must be confirmed by the Texas Senate. The appointee serves until the next general election, in which he or she may compete to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.[21]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Candidate Texas Supreme Court Place 1 Chief Justice |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Judicial Branch, "Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht," accessed August 13, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Nathan L. Hecht (TX)," accessed December 1, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Supreme Court of Texas, "Justice Nathan L. Hecht," archived October 17, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (A-L)," accessed August 6, 2021
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 Republican Party Primary Election, Unofficial Results," accessed December 1, 2014
- ↑ State Bar of Texas, "Judicial Poll Results," March 5, 2014
- ↑ Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, "Endorsements," archived October 22, 2014
- ↑ Texas Office of the Secretary of State, "Race Summary Report 2012 General Election," November 6, 2012
- ↑ Texas Republican Party, "2012 Texas Republican Candidates," archived July 6, 2012
- ↑ Nathan Hecht Campaign website, "Home," 2012
- ↑ Information submitted to Judgepedia by Justice Hecht's campaign via email on 9/27/2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Nominee Meets With Committee Democrats," October 18, 2005
- ↑ Texas Watch, "Did Justice Nathan Hecht Break the Law?" July 24, 2007
- ↑ Above the Law, "Love Conquers All: Justice Nathan Hecht Cleared on Ethics Charges," October 20, 2006
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ While no justice older than 74 may run for office, sitting justices who turn 75 are permitted to remain on the court until their terms expire.
- ↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
