Fed Court to Texas Pols: No 1st Amendment Right to Closed Door Meetings

Image via WikipediaThe U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas last week ruled in Asgeirsson et al. v. Abbott (Case No. P-09-cv-00059) that the Texas Open Meetings Act ("TOMA") [Tex. Govt. Code sec. 551.001(3)] does not infringe on the First Amendment rights of elected officials by requiring them to conduct government meetings in public.

In a 37-page decision denying the plaintiffs' request for declaratory judgment, the federal court held that governmental entities "have no First Amendment right to conduct public business behind closed doors." To the contrary, the court wrote, "free discussion is suppressed when city council members close their meetings to the public."

In a long-waged battle (see "TUOL" posts 2/4/10 and 12/15/09), Texas officials condemned TOMA as constitutionally vague and voiced concern they could face fines and jail for violating its provisions. The court said the statute is content neutral in that it does not inhibit speech based on subject matter or substance, and legitimately serves the government's interests of fostering transparency in the government's decision-making process, shines a light on corruption and fraud and promotes trust in government.

The plaintiffs' plan to appeal the adverse ruling to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, according to a report on the Website for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (www.rcfp.org.).

AGs Have Backpage.com Adult Services Ads in Their Sites

Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr
Buoyed by Craigslist's decision earlier this month to discontinue accepting adult services ads, attorneys general from 21 states are pressuring Village Voice Media-owned Backpage.com to follow suit.


According to Dallas Morning News and Associated Press stories, Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal and Texas AG Greg Abbott both signed on to a letter urging the company to oversee their personal and paid classified ads for suspicious listings and to discontinue free adult online listings. Blumenthal alleges Backpage.com has pocketed $17.5 million from "prostitution ads."


Thus far, Village Voice Media is defiant, claiming only 6 million of its 58 million ads over the past two years involved adult services and that Backpage.com has only testified in five cases involving the alleged abuse of underaged individuals.


"TUOL" believes the AG pressure tactics mask a First Amendment battle the authorities suspect they cannot win. More to the point, the exercise of chasing adult ads from Craigslist to Backpage and beyond is akin to picking up watermelon seeds from a freshly waxed floor--a difficult task that accomplishes little in the end.

UPDATE: Texas AG Says Towns Lack 1st A Right to Contest Open Meetings Act

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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed a 10-page motion in federal court in Pecos seeking to have four municipalities dropped as parties to a case challenging the constitutionality of the Texas Open Meetings Act ("TOMA")[Tex. Govt. Code Sec. 551.001(3)], See "TUOL" post 12/15/09 for details concerning the case.

Alpine, Rockport, Wichita Falls and Pflugerville, along with 15 town officials, alleged in their complaint that TOMA violated their First Amendment free speech rights by barring elected officials from discussing public issues in public or private. Violators face up to six months in prison and a $500 fine.

Abbott contends that the four municipalities are "creatures of the state," and, as such, can't assert constituional claims against Texas, and that only citizens possess First Amendment rights. No date has been set by the court to hear the motion as of yet.