On New Year's Eve, the longest-serving justice in Texas Supreme Court history will enter retirement.
Nathan Hect, 75, has served on the bench since 1989 and as chief justice since 2014, the Texas Tribune reported. It now falls to Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, to choose his replacement.
While Hecht won another six-year term as chief justice in 2020, the state's constitution requires him to step down because of his age.
When Hecht first won election to the top court in 1988, the bench was still dominated by Democrats. A series of corruption scandals helped propel Hecht to victory against his Democratic opponent, who had been the subject of a 60 Minutes expose on his cozy ties with lawyers arguing in his court.
“Party politics were changing in the state at the same time, but the broader issue on our court at the time was to ensure that judges were following the law,” Hecht told the Texas Tribune in a retirement interview. “That was a driving issue.”
By the early 2000s, Hecht had become known for his staunchly conservative and pro-life views, leading critics to label him an intellectual leader of the "right-wing fringe" in Texas' courts.
But Hecht never saw his work as political. He prioritized reforms to court administration and procedure, especially to help poor people gain equal access to the justice system.
“Some people call it the justice gap. I call it the justice chasm,” Hecht said. “Because it’s just a huge gulf between the people that need legal help and the ability to provide it.”
In 2005, Hecht gained national attention for participating in a blitz of media interviews in support of his friend, Harriet Miers, who was nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court by President George W. Bush. Hecht's advocacy led to a lengthy legal battle that ended with him paying a $1,000 fine in 2016.
By 2013, Hecht had been planning to retire, but the outgoing chief justice encouraged him to seek the position.
“He wanted me to consider being his successor,” Hecht said. “So I did, and here I am. I didn’t say, ‘Let's spend 43 years on the bench,’ but one thing led to another.”
While others have used the court as a springboard for political careers - Gov. Abbott is a former Supreme Court Justice, for example - Hecht is content with the work that he accomplished on the state court, especially for the poor and disadvantaged.
"No judge wants to give his life's energy to a work that mocks the justice that he's trying to provide,” he said. “For the judiciary, this is an important issue, because when the promise of equal justice under law is denied because you're too poor, there's no such thing as equal justice under the law.”
