Post by pavel on Feb 10, 2016 22:01:19 GMT -6
State Bar Will Investigate Paxton for Conduct After Marriage Ruling
The list of investigations into Attorney General Ken Paxton’s conduct just got a little bit longer. The Texas State Bar was ordered last week to launch a disciplinary probe into Paxton’s conduct in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage — an investigation that could end with Paxton getting disbarred.
In a Feb. 2 letter, the state Board of Disciplinary Appeals told lawyers who filed a complaint against Paxton that it was directing the State Bar to investigate Paxton's "possible violation" of its rules of professional conduct.
The legal saga began last summer, after the Supreme Court announced same-sex marriage had been legalized nationwide. Two days later, Paxton issued an opinion telling county clerks they could opt out of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the clerks had religious objections to doing so. Paxton clarified that clerks might face fines or legal challenges if they refused to issue licenses because “the strength of any particular religious-accommodation claim depends on the particular facts of each case.”
Almost immediately, a group of lawyers, former State Bar directors and judges filed a complaint with the State Bar’s Chief Disciplinary Counsel, alleging Paxton’s opinion constituted a violation of the rules of professional conduct to which he is bound as an attorney.
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/02/10/state-bar-will-investigate-paxton-conduct-after-sa/
The list of investigations into Attorney General Ken Paxton’s conduct just got a little bit longer. The Texas State Bar was ordered last week to launch a disciplinary probe into Paxton’s conduct in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage — an investigation that could end with Paxton getting disbarred.
In a Feb. 2 letter, the state Board of Disciplinary Appeals told lawyers who filed a complaint against Paxton that it was directing the State Bar to investigate Paxton's "possible violation" of its rules of professional conduct.
The legal saga began last summer, after the Supreme Court announced same-sex marriage had been legalized nationwide. Two days later, Paxton issued an opinion telling county clerks they could opt out of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the clerks had religious objections to doing so. Paxton clarified that clerks might face fines or legal challenges if they refused to issue licenses because “the strength of any particular religious-accommodation claim depends on the particular facts of each case.”
Almost immediately, a group of lawyers, former State Bar directors and judges filed a complaint with the State Bar’s Chief Disciplinary Counsel, alleging Paxton’s opinion constituted a violation of the rules of professional conduct to which he is bound as an attorney.
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/02/10/state-bar-will-investigate-paxton-conduct-after-sa/