AUSTIN – Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht was ordered to pay a $29,000 fine today for accepting an illegal contribution and failing to report it.

In a public hearing before the Texas Ethics Commission, Justice Hecht rigorously denied the accusation that a reduced rate he received on a legal bill –- stemming from his defense of an earlier ethical question –- was a gift of services that amounted to a political contribution.

The commission ruled that it was a contribution to his campaign, that it exceeded legal limits on what judges can accept and that he failed to disclose the donation on his state reports.

“I’m disappointed, but I respect the commission’s decision,” Justice Hecht said after the four-hour hearing.

He said he is weighing whether to appeal the judgment in state district court.

The ethics complaint stems from an admonishment by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct in May 2006 that reprimanded Mr. Hecht for publicly supporting the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Hecht successfully challenged the admonishment before a special court, which found he was properly exercising his right to free speech in defending Ms. Miers’ qualifications. But his one-year legal fight resulted in a $476,000 legal fee, of which he paid $308,000.

Justice Hecht said that he negotiated a lower price, a common practice with lawyer fees, and paid the discounted amount with campaign contributions.

But ethics watchdogs pointed to a fundraising letter that the justice wrote, calling the reduced fees an in-kind contribution to his campaign. Texas law prohibits judges from accepting more than $5,000 from any individual or $30,000 from any one law firm.

Texas Watch filed the complaint against the judge, saying he also failed to disclose the $108,000 discount.