In a lawsuit filed Monday, Sept. 21, four Tarrant County residents claim the Commissioners Court decorum policy violates the First and 14th Amendments as well as the Texas Constitution.
Plaintiffs Reed Bilz, Katherine Godby, Elizabeth Miller and Karla Palomares say defendants Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare and the county have “created a culture of fear and chilled protected speech” with the decorum policy. Each are regular attendees of the monthly commissioners court meetings.
Their complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to condemn the policy as unconstitutional and bar its use.
Created under O’Hare’s leadership, the decorum policy prohibits personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks as well as threatening, disruptive or unruly behavior.
The policy has been used to eject 14 people from meetings in 2026. Most of the time, those kicked out receive a criminal trespass warning. Two men who were kicked out twice this year were arrested and charged with disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct.
O’Hare and the county did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A political science professor and a First Amendment expert both told the Star-Telegram the policy was concerning because of its vagueness.
Leah Nesbitt, a spokesperson for the county judge’s office, said in August that O’Hare has a duty to maintain an orderly meeting for the public’s benefit and efficiency’s sake. She also said the sheriff’s office decides who is arrested.
“The Commissioners Court Decorum Rules exist to allow as many voices as possible to be heard at meetings in an orderly manner,” Nesbitt said. “Every large county in Texas has a decorum policy, many of which are more strict than Tarrant County’s. These rules do not silence passionate or critical voices. Maintaining order is necessary to serve all constituents efficiently and effectively.”
The lawsuit demands a trial by jury and deems the decorum policy overly broad and vague. Though the plaintiffs have read the policy multiple times over, the legal document says, they don’t know what speech or actions could lead to punishments ranging from a reprimand to jail time.
Tarrant’s decorum policy “erects even higher barriers to public participation, silences criticism and dissent, and, in many cases, punishes their own constituents for speaking out,” the lawsuit says.
In a statement, the Libertarian Party of Tarrant County voiced its support of the plaintiffs and called the decorum policy a step in the direction of censorship.
“The First Amendment was never written to protect comfortable speech,” the statement said. “It protects the sharp word and the criticism an official would rather not hear. A policy that lets one man decide, on the spot, which grievances his constituents may voice is not decorum. It is the opposite of the accountability the Constitution was built to secure.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 10:56 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.