Four Tarrant County women say the Tarrant County Commissioners Court Decorum Policy violates people's civil rights, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.
The suit against Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare and the county was filed by residents Reed Bilz, Katherine Godby, Elizabeth Miller, and Karla Palomares, who all regularly attend commissioners court meetings. Their suit claims the decorum policy violates their rights to freedom of speech under the First Amendment and rights to due process under the 14th Amendment.
The suit claims O'Hare's enforcement of the rules "has created a culture of fear and chilled protected speech, cutting to the heart of the Constitution’s free speech and due process guarantees."
"Plaintiffs have changed the words of their speeches to avoid offending Defendant O’Hare, no matter how mild the offense or how authentic the emotion behind it," the suit reads.
Nina Lea Oishi, an attorney for the four women, told KERA News Tuesday this case, along with others filed this year, demonstrates how the decorum policy has affected the fundamental rights of all county residents.
"Although they have not been arrested like the other litigants, our plaintiffs are four courageous women who have still faced a real constitutional harm, because the Decorum Policy has forced them to self-censor their protected speech and conduct," Oishi said. "Together, the lawsuits paint a picture of elected officials who have chosen to repeatedly silence the community and avoid accountability by cutting meetings down to once a month, dramatically reducing time to speak, and suppressing their own residents."
The suit is asking for a jury trial and for the court to prevent any county officials from enforcing the decorum policy.
KERA News reached out to O'Hare's office for a comment and will update this story with any response.
Residents in the past have been removed or criminally charged for a range of reasons under O'Hare's leadership, including cursing, clapping, insulting commissioners, or going past their allotted time to speak during public comment.
It led the commissioners court to implement a stricter decorum policy last year.
This is the latest civil rights lawsuit filed by residents against Tarrant County and O'Hare since 2025.
Former state lawmaker Lon Burnam filed a petition against the county and county judge earlier this month seeking to have O'Hare removed from office. He alleged official misconduct or incompetency by O’Hare for repeatedly removing speakers from commissioners court meetings.
The petition was dismissed Monday after a Tarrant County judge ruled the claims in Burnam's filing did not prove official misconduct or incompetency, but rather “a dispute about the lawful scope of meeting control,” according to the court filing.
Burnam was arrested at the Aug. 4 meeting after sheriff deputies carried him out of the room by his hands and feet. He was on the floor when they told him to leave the meeting. He was charged with hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct and disrupting a meeting or procession.
Bishop Mark Kirkland, of Greater St. Mark Ministries, sued O’Hare and the county last December over claims O’Hare violated his freedom of speech and expression when Kirkland was addressing the commissioners court during public comments.
Kirkland had criticized O’Hare during the meeting and was ultimately removed.
That suit is paused until the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to reconsider another suit filed by Kirkland’s attorney, CJ Grisham, against the county, O'Hare, and three county sheriffs last year. Grisham's suit also claims O'Hare violated his constitutional right to freedom of speech when he had him removed after clapping at a commissioners court meeting.
Fort Worth activist EJ Carrion was arrested a week after August's commissioners court meeting after cursing during his allotted time to speak during public comments. Carrion faces the same charges as Burnam.
Monday's suit points to all of these cases as other examples of O'Hare violating individuals' civil rights and how it led the plaintiffs to censoring themselves during public comment.
"Plaintiffs have omitted important issues from their speeches out of fear of going even one or two seconds over their allotted time and risking the consequences," according to the suit. "Plaintiffs have even refrained from standing or clapping in support of other speakers as another limited way of expressing their viewpoints to their elected officials, lest Defendant O’Hare single them out for punishment next."
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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