A Fort Worth pastor alleges Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare violated his First Amendment rights by having him removed from a public meeting this month.
Bishop Mark Kirkland, of Greater St. Mark Ministries, sued O’Hare and the county Dec. 15, alleging that O’Hare denied him his right to freedom of speech and expression when Kirkland was addressing the Tarrant County Commissioners Court during the allotted time for public comments.
The lawsuit comes one week after Kirkland criticized O’Hare during a commissioners court meeting, and the judge subsequently ejected the bishop from the meeting. Kirkland is seeking $250,000 in damages and a trial by jury.
“People are just finally getting fed up, and Judge O’Hare needs to understand and be put in his place that he’s not God. He’s not an overpowering ruler or dictator,” Kirkland’s attorney, C.J. Grisham, told the Fort Worth Report. “He’s the county judge who has a responsibility and a duty to respect and protect people’s First Amendment rights to speak.”
In January, Grisham also was removed by O’Hare from a commissioners meeting after swearing. He, too, is suing O’Hare and the county as he seeks $250,000.
In the last year, the county’s top elected official has removed attendees if they clap, swear or express criticism. Two speakers were removed from the courtroom and criminally charged in January. One of the speakers got his charges dismissed, while the other was convicted and sentenced to probation.
During the Dec. 9 commissioners meeting, O’Hare shushed the audience for clapping after a speaker addressed the court. During those public meetings, residents may sign up to speak for three minutes to talk about any item on the agenda before commissioners vote on it.
Kirkland was the next person to speak after O’Hare shushed the crowd. When he approached the lectern, he shook his head and said, “Lord, I live in America where people cannot clap. That is insane to me.”
In response, O’Hare told Kirkland, “You can sit down if you would like to sit down,” according to the lawsuit.
When Kirkland continued speaking, O’Hare instructed him to return to the audience, saying, “Your time is done. Sit down. Go. It’s not commentary on how we run the court. Your comments are limited to this item. Take a seat. You’re not talking on this one.”
Two sheriff’s deputies escorted Kirkland from the courtroom when he objected, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In a statement, O’Hare’s chief of staff Ruth Ray denied that the judge violated the Constitution, instead asserting that Kirkland broke the commissioners court’s rules of decorum “through his conduct and then his speech.”
“Judge O’Hare is a firm supporter of the Constitution,” Ray’s statement read. “He has never removed anyone from a meeting due to criticism and never will.”
Personal attacks, unruly behavior, disruptive remarks and “actions of approval or disapproval from the audience” are prohibited from commissioners meetings under the county’s rules. Violations can result in a speaker’s removal by the county judge, the loss of their speaking time or a temporary restriction on speaking during meetings.
Under Texas law, governing bodies cannot prohibit speakers from criticizing them or their actions, omissions, policies, procedures, programs or services.
The Texas Open Meetings Act allows for speakers to be removed from public meetings for causing a disturbance but doesn’t explicitly define what constitutes a disturbance.
Kirkland’s lawsuit alleges O’Hare discriminated against the pastor, who is Black, by having him removed from the meeting, while white speakers were granted more lenience.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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