A U.S. appeals court will determine whether two lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations move forward against Tarrant County and Judge Tim O’Hare.
The lawsuit Bishop Mark Kirkland filed against the county and O’Hare in January is paused until the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to reconsider a lawsuit Kirkland’s attorney, CJ Grisham, filed against the county judge last year. Both men allege that O’Hare violated their constitutional right to freedom of speech when he had them removed from public meetings of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.
A magistrate judge canceled the Aug. 28 hearing to settle Kirkland’s lawsuit, citing U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman’s decision to wait on the appeals court before further judgment.
“The related case before the Fifth Circuit is substantially similar in posture and involves the constitutionality of precisely the same county rules of decorum,” Pittman wrote in an Aug. 6 court filing.
The cancellation issued Aug. 7 came three days after O’Hare earned state headlines for ordering all attendees to leave the commissioners courtroom when some of them clapped after he told them not to during a public meeting. A former Tarrant County state lawmaker was arrested and carried out of the courtroom by sheriff deputies after continuing to speak when O’Hare cut off his public comments.
Grisham, an attorney and gun rights activist from Temple, alleges that O’Hare violated the First Amendment when the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting for using profanity in January 2025. U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means dismissed the lawsuit in April, and Grisham is appealing that decision.
Kirkland, a Fort Worth pastor, sued O’Hare days after the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting in December — then refiled the suit in January after it was tossed out for logistical errors. O’Hare had cut Kirkland’s speaking time short when the pastor commented on the county judge ordering attendees not to clap during the meeting.
Each lawsuit seeks $250,000 in damages.
O’Hare is no longer named in Kirkland’s lawsuit after Pittman granted him qualified immunity, which protects government officials from liability for civil damages as long as their conduct doesn’t violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known,” according to a 1982 Supreme Court decision. Pending the decision on Grisham’s case, Kirkland’s suit would move forward against the county.
Grisham told the Fort Worth Report he feels confident in his appeal “because the First Amendment is probably the most litigated of all the rights.” He hopes the suits’ outcome will deter O’Hare from continuing to remove people from the commissioners court and set a legal precedent for future grievances.
“The fact of the matter is, our state constitution and the federal constitution are very clear,” Grisham said. “Sorry, Tim, we’re allowed to criticize you. We’re allowed to criticize what you do. We’re allowed to criticize your policies. We’re allowed to criticize the government.”
O’Hare, who is seeking reelection in November, did not return a request for comment sent to his spokesperson. He is defended in-house by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, which provides legal counsel to all the county’s elected officials and appointed administrators.
“The district court has paused the Kirkland case until the Fifth Circuit rules on the Grisham case, and both cases involve similar issues,” District Attorney Phil Sorrells said in a statement to the Report. “Because any ruling in the Grisham case may affect the outcome in the Kirkland case, it is impossible to project what will happen in Kirkland.”
https://fortworthreport.org/2026/02/15/free-speech-concerns-raised-as-tarrant-county-judge-removes-meeting-attendees/
Lon Burnam, the former legislator carried out of the courtroom earlier this month, faces criminal charges for disrupting the Aug. 4 commissioners court meeting. After his release from the county jail, he said he was considering a lawsuit against O’Hare.
Podcast host EJ Carrion also left the Aug. 4 meeting after O’Hare cut his speaking time short. He was arrested a week after voluntarily leaving the commissioners courtroom and also charged with disrupting the meeting.
The commissioners court’s rules of decorum prohibit “impertinent, profane, obscene or slanderous remarks,” as well as “threatening, disruptive or unruly behavior.” Actions of approval or disapproval — such as clapping, whistling or yelling — are also prohibited.
Failure to comply may result in the cancellation of a speaker’s comment time, removal from the commissioners court or a temporary ban, according to the rules.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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