Legal Opinion · Dissent
Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Benton
Texas Supreme Court
Decided December 31, 1998No. 97-0228Published
1DissentGonzalez, Justice
Today the Court announces that the free speech clauses of the United States and Texas Constitutions do not permit a lawyer to privately confront and criticize jurors for rendering an unfavorable verdict. In a recent opinion this Court acknowledged that “[cjommunication sometimes requires confrontation.” Operation Rescue v. Planned Parenthood, 975 S.W.2d 546, 555 (Tex.1998). I would hold that while the courts and the bar should discourage the crassness exhibited by the lawyer in this case, the disciplinary enforcement of Rule 3.06(d) infringes on constitutionally protected speech.
A majority of…
2Cases cited50 opinions
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanSupreme Court of the United States · 1964
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
- National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. ButtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Miller v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Chaplinsky v. New HampshireSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
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