On December 9, 2025, a plaintiff attended an open meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, the governing body for Defendant Tarrant County. The plaintiff registered to speak during the public comment period for agenda item F1.

During the meeting, County Judge Tim O'Hare briefly shushed applause from the audience following a previous speaker's remarks on the same agenda item. The plaintiff does not allege that he was clapping or that anyone was reprimanded or removed for clapping.

Judge O'Hare then called the plaintiff to give his remarks. During his speech, the plaintiff claimed that his First Amendment rights had been violated. According to the plaintiff, the court’s policy bans "personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks" and any "actions of approval or disapproval from the audience, such as … clapping … except that orderly clapping during the Proclamations, Resolutions, and Presentations section of the agenda is permissible."

The federal judge referenced Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, which states that "The assembly has the right to protect itself from annoyance by nonmembers … [a]t a mass meeting, any person who attempts to disrupt the proceedings in a manner obviously hostile to the announced purpose of the meeting can be treated as a nonmember under the provisions of this paragraph."

The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the Fifth Circuit’s recent precedent, stating that it "discerned that pedanticism ought to be favored over practical wisdom." He lamented the need to define expectations with excessive clarity, "presumably because our citizens are too childish to understand the plain meaning of 'personal,' 'impertinent,' 'slanderous,' and 'boisterous.'"

The Bossier City Rules, cited for comparison, read: "Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the President Pro-tem, barred from further audience before the Council."

The judge’s remarks highlight ongoing tensions between procedural formalism and practical governance in public meetings.

Notable Quotes

  • "Lord, I live in America where people cannot clap. That is insane to me."
  • "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."

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Sources

Reason: Federal Judge in Texas Not Wild About Fifth Circuit's Recent Precedent