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Texas Justice Admonished for Harriet Miers Support NewsMax.com Wires AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas Supreme Court justice was admonished for improperly using his position to support close friend Harriet Miers when she was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said that Nathan Hecht told White House staff to send media inquiries about Miers' career to him and discussed her qualifications in about 120 newspaper, radio and TV interviews. In some interviews, Hecht, a Republican, said Miers' nomination would be "good for the country" and that she would make a "good justice." Texas judicial conduct rules prohibit judges from lending the prestige of their office to boost the private interests of themselves or others. They also prohibit judges from allowing their names to be used to endorse candidates. The commission's written admonishment was dated May 10 and released Tuesday. Hecht, who has dated Miers, said the ruling restricts his right to free speech. He hired an attorney 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 said in a statement. Story Continues Below
Two complaints were filed against Hecht. One remains anonymous under state law and the other came from the commission itself, said Seana Willing, the commission's executive director. President Bush nominated Miers for the court last year to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor. Miers eventually withdrew her name under fire from conservatives who wouldn't support her.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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