As Bexar County Court 13 Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez fights a private warning from the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct to remove a pride flag and all rainbow paraphernalia displayed in the courtroom, Jackson Walker partner Chip Babcock spoke with Texas Lawyer about whether the sanction violates Speedlin Gonzalez’s freedom of speech.
While Canon 2 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct requires a judge to avoid the appearance of impropriety, Speedlin Gonzalez said one San Antonio judge, a veteran, wears a camouflage robe on the bench. Another judicial colleague has displayed the Irish flag in his courtroom. She argued that if she is disciplined for a rainbow flag, the commission must equally discipline all judges who display different symbols in court.
“Singling out a symbol or flag for display because of its content, that violates the First Amendment,” Chip said.
To read more, view the Texas Lawyer article “A Gay Judge in Texas Was Sanctioned for Displaying the Rainbow Flag. Was She Wrong?” or pages 10-11 of the June 2020 issue. A subscription is required to view both the article and June 2020 issue.
Meet Chip
Charles “Chip” L. Babcock is a nationally acclaimed First Amendment lawyer who has argued—and won—some of the most high-profile litigation matters to date. Chip’s practice focuses on civil trials, arbitration, commercial litigation, catastrophic litigation, intellectual property matters, breach of contract, and First Amendment issues. Over his career, Chip has received national acclaim among The Best Lawyers in America since 1991 and Chambers and Partners’ Chambers USA Guide since 2006. In addition to being named one of the “25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century” by Texas Lawyer in 2010, he earned the Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Texas Bar Foundation in 2016 and the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award by the Anti-Defamation League Southwest Region in 2018.
