Texas Chief Justice Tells State Bar To Keep It Classy In Judiciary Address

Political affiliations can complicate hearing messages about decorum and establishing what the proper consequences to violating norms are. Al Green managed to smuggle a spine in to Trump’s address to Congress, and Republicans promptly got him up out of there. Democrats did nothing when Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckled Biden during one of his States of the Union — because again, spineless — but it goes to show how important it can be to try and nip outbursts in the bud before they flower into a media cycle talking point. At least in theory. Texas’s Chief Justice tried to do just that. Bloomberg Law has coverage:

The State Bar of Texas is taking Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock’s (R) public scolding stoically.

Blacklock warned the State Bar to “remain completely politically neutral” at his first state of the judiciary address on Feb. 26. “The Supreme Court will accept nothing less from the State Bar, and we expect the Bar to live up to that high standard,” he said, offering little in the way of specific concerns.

Abstractly, this all reads above board. However, the vagueness of the warning makes you wonder what Justice Blacklock had in mind as examples of the Bar having a political bent. The Bar’s involvement in trying to discipline Ken Paxton, Brent Webster, and Sidney Powell come to mind, but it is hard to believe that trying to prevent an election from being stolen is purely a Democrat concern. If it is, Mike Pence may need to change his political affiliations. Thankfully, it looks like the Bar took the light reprimand on the chin.

Bar president Steve Benesh of Bracewell LLP said in a statement after Blacklock’s speech, “We agree with the Chief Justice that the State Bar of Texas should remain politically neutral, and that is what we work to do every day.”

Time will tell whether Benesh’s response amounts to calling Blacklock’s bluff or promising to fall in line. If it’s the former, we may soon see what consequences Justice Blacklock has up his sleeve. If it’s the latter, get ready for Trump’s third term.

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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