Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, the longest-serving justice on the Texas Supreme Court, retired after a remarkable 35-year career marked by his dedication to improving access to justice for all Texans. Hecht was known for his advocacy for the poor and his commitment to ensuring that justice was not limited to those who could afford it.
Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht listens to arguments as the Supreme Court of Texas hears oral arguments on Senate Bill 14, a prohibition on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, in Austin.During his most recent campaign for re-election, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht in 2020 was asked by this editorial board to name the highlights of his civic accomplishments to date.
Hecht rattled off decades of his efforts to, among other things, secure more access to the civil court system for the poor.His motivation, he said, was simple. “I have often said that justice for only those who can afford it is neither justice for all or justice at all.”; at 75, Hecht had reached the state mandated retirement age for judges. With 35 years on the bench, Hecht was the longest-serving jurist on the Texas Supreme Court in history.We join the many Texans — judges, lawyers, legislators, business leaders, advocates for veterans, the poor and disenfranchised and others — in saluting Hecht’s legendary and consequential career. Our state is better off for his service. First elected to the high court in 1988, the sheer quantity of Hecht’s work is remarkable enough to warrant accolades. After his final hearing of oral arguments on Dec. 5, Hecht’s colleagues on the bench presented him with bound copies of his 730 signed opinions. They calculated that he heard 2,779 oral arguments during his tenure. A gallery full of former justices stood in ovation.But Hecht, who began his judicial career in 1981 presiding over the 95th District Court in downtown Dallas, did much more than just hang around for a long time. He had already served admirably on the court for more than two decades, and was well down the road in his advocacy for improving access to civil courts for the poor, when in 2013 Gov. Rick Perry appointed him chief justic
Justice Retirement Nathan L. Hecht Texas Supreme Court Access To Justice
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