REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS OF TEXAS STATEMENT REGARDING MILLER v. TARRANT COUNTY

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas stands with our fellow Board member, Elizabeth “Liz” Miller, in her decision to seek judicial protection of the constitutional freedoms of speech and petition.

On September 21, 2026, Miller joined three other Tarrant County residents in filing a federal civil-rights action challenging the Tarrant County Commissioners Court Rules of Decorum. The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution.

The complaint alleges that the County’s rules have caused Miller and other citizens to censor criticism of their elected officials because they cannot know with sufficient certainty what speech may result in reprimand, removal, exclusion from future meetings, or other sanctions. With respect to Miller specifically, the complaint alleges that she has refrained from criticizing County officials and has curtailed speech because of uncertainty about how the rules will be applied.

The First Amendment protects more than agreeable speech. Its protection matters most when citizens question government, criticize public officials, challenge prevailing policy, or express views those in power would rather not hear. Public bodies unquestionably possess authority to maintain genuine order and conduct their business. That authority, however, must be exercised

through reasonable and viewpoint-neutral rules rather than standards that permit criticism to be restricted because it is considered offensive, impertinent, or unwelcome. The Fifth Circuit recently addressed closely similar language in Merriott v. City of Bossier City, holding restrictions on “personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks” facially overbroad and vague and concluding that those speech restrictions impermissibly discriminated on the basis of viewpoint.

Tarrant County’s published Rules of Decorum presently prohibit, among other things, “personal attacks” and “impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks,” restrict various expressions of audience approval or disapproval, and grant the presiding County Judge substantial authority over speakers. The constitutionality of those provisions as challenged in this lawsuit is now

properly a matter for the federal courts.

RLCTX supports Liz Miller and her fellow plaintiffs in exercising their own constitutional right to seek that judicial review.

This principle transcends party, ideology, personality, and officeholder. A government confident in the liberty of its citizens need not fear their criticism. Texans must remain free to petition their government, question their representatives, and speak forcefully on matters of public concern

without having to first determine whether their words will please the officials sitting on the dais.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas remains committed to defending individual liberty, constitutional government, freedom of speech, and the right of every Texan to hold government

accountable.