Constitutional Rights & Issues

The extraordinary measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to cause constitutional clashes. My last post’s opening hypothetical about members of a congregation being ticketed for attending church services has now become a reality, and the Supreme Court has given its first hint on how it would strike the balance between fundamental constitutional rights and the government’s interest in preserving public health.
Continue Reading COVID-19 v. the Constitution: The Conflict Continues

stay home stay safe orderIn an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the county judge has issued a shelter-in-place order that prohibits all public gatherings. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,000 or 180 days imprisonment. Defying the order, Reverend Elmer Gantry opens his church on Sunday morning to a smaller but still enthusiastic congregation. As the members leave at the end of the service, they are met by a sheriff’s deputy, who hands each of them a ticket for violating the order. Reverend Gantry proclaims that fining people for attending church violates their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion. Will the First Amendment be their salvation?
Continue Reading COVID-19: Are Your Constitutional Rights Quarantined Too?

Reverend Leatl Hope, pastor of the to Boring Fourth Day Adventist Church in Gun Barrel City has been reading about the deadly shootings in churches all over the country, and he is worried. His small congregation does not have the resources to retain a full-time security officer. Yet, he believes that he should be doing something to protect his flock. Does he have any options?
Continue Reading Voluntary Church Members Packing in Church

iphone videoCareful about protecting the safety of his customers, A.R. Remington, owner of Fishinabarrel Gun Range, installed surveillance cameras to blanket his premises, except the restrooms. Last week while target practicing with his Glock 9mm, Politician Ronald Crump made an off color joke about his likely opponent in the upcoming presidential election using a reference that

Drone with CameraTrying to avoid the sweltering heat, “Uncle Jesse” Duke was in the garage working on his moonshine operation when he heard a loud shriek in the backyard. He ran to the back to find his niece, Daisy, sunbathing by the pool. Daisy shouted, “That drone keeps hovering over the pool area looking toward me. Do

Regardless of their personal stance on any hot-button social issue, most business owners do not want their place of business to be the focus of demonstrations on that issue – wisely so, because rarely does being the focus of a political demonstration go hand-in-hand with making money.  

However, recently some gun enthusiasts in Dallas put Chipotle in the spotlight by openly carrying loaded semi-automatic rifles – commonly known as “assault rifles” – into a downtown Dallas area Chipotle’s restaurant. Chipotle released a statement asking customers not to bring firearms into their restaurants, reading in part:  

Recently participants from an “open carry” demonstration in Texas brought guns (including military-style assault rifles) into one of our restaurants, causing many of our customers anxiety and discomfort. Because of this, we are respectfully asking that customers not bring guns into our restaurants, unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel. 
Continue Reading Open-Carriers Pose a Threat to Restaurants with Liquor Licenses

“Open Carry” advocates recently made the news by openly carrying rifles and shotguns into Texas businesses. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) issued a REMINDER to all those who hold a Liquor License that businesses licensed to sell or serve alcoholic beverages are prohibited by state law from allowing rifles or shotguns in the

Whizzle Blour, a professor of surgery at University Medical School, complained to his supervisor that trauma residents at University Hospital were treating and operating on patients without an attending physician’s supervision in violation of Medicare and Medicaid law.  After agreeing to settle those federal claims, University Hospital stripped Whizzle of his faculty chair position claiming he was a poor administrator. Later he was fired. He filed a whistleblower suit alleging his demotion was in retaliation for reporting the federal law violations. Will Whizzle Blour prevail?

No. Whizzle Blour failed to prove all the required elements for retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA). Reporting the Medicare and Medicaid violations to his supervisor did not satisfy the TWA because the supervisor was not qualified as “an appropriate law enforcement entity.”


Continue Reading Whistleblowers, Do Tell?

Special thanks to guest blogger Alex Fuller for this month’s post.

            Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;

            ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

            But he that filches from me my good name

            Robs me of that which not enriches him,

            And makes me poor indeed.

                        –Othello Act 3, Scene 3

While on a date to the Laugh Factory Comedy Club, Terry Tellsall busted a gut laughing and was rushed to Texas General Hospital. Incensed by the treatment and bedside manner he received from Dr. B.D. Manner, Terry barraged his friend Cindy Cussin with texts detailing Dr. Manner’s inability to remember critical surgical procedures and his comments that “with a belly that size, you’re lucky you only busted one gut.” The next day, Terry posted his accusations on a popular doctor-rating website.

Luckily for Terry, the attending Nurse Nancy smelled Dr. Manner’s whiskey breath, heard his comments, and thankfully reminded him of the right procedure. However, Terry’s friend Cindy Cussin was Dr. Manner’s cousin and forwarded Terry’s texts to him. When Dr. Manner read the texts and received the early morning Google Alert with Terry’s website posts, he immediately instructed Able Attorney, Esq., to file a defamation lawsuit against Terry. Is Terry liable for libel?

Probably not. Truth is still a defense to any claim of verbal (slander) or written (libel) defamation. Better yet, the 2011 Texas Anti-SLAPP statute makes it harder for defamation lawsuits to be used as a bullying tactic.


Continue Reading The Case of the Defamed Doctor – SLAPP’ing Down Defamation Cases in Texas