THE EVOLUTION OF JUDICIAL TYRANNY IN THE UNITED STATES:

"If the judges interpret the laws themselves, and suffer none else to interpret, they may easily make, of the laws, [a shredded] shipman's hose!" - King James I of England, around 1616.

“No class of the community ought to be allowed freer scope in the expression or publication of opinions as to the capacity, impartiality or integrity of judges than members of the bar. They have the best opportunities of observing and forming a correct judgment. They are in constant attendance on the courts. Hundreds of those who are called on to vote never enter a court-house, or if they do, it is only at intervals as jurors, witnesses or parties. To say that an attorney can only act or speak on this subject under liability to be called to account and to be deprived of his profession and livelihood by the very judge or judges whom he may consider it his duty to attack and expose, is a position too monstrous to be entertained for a moment under our present system,” Justice Sharwood in Ex Parte Steinman and Hensel, 95 Pa 220, 238-39 (1880).

“This case illustrates to me the serious consequences to the Bar itself of not affording the full protections of the First Amendment to its applicants for admission. For this record shows that [the rejected attorney candidate] has many of the qualities that are needed in the American Bar. It shows not only that [the rejected attorney candidate] has followed a high moral, ethical and patriotic course in all of the activities of his life, but also that he combines these more common virtues with the uncommon virtue of courage to stand by his principles at any cost.

It is such men as these who have most greatly honored the profession of the law. The legal profession will lose much of its nobility and its glory if it is not constantly replenished with lawyers like these. To force the Bar to become a group of thoroughly orthodox, time-serving, government-fearing individuals is to humiliate and degrade it.” In Re Anastaplo, 18 Ill. 2d 182, 163 N.E.2d 429 (1959), cert. granted, 362 U.S. 968 (1960), affirmed over strong dissent, 366 U.S. 82 (1961), Justice Black, Chief Justice Douglas and Justice Brennan, dissenting.

" I do not believe that the practice of law is a "privilege" which empowers Government to deny lawyers their constitutional rights. The mere fact that a lawyer has important responsibilities in society does not require or even permit the State to deprive him of those protections of freedom set out in the Bill of Rights for the precise purpose of insuring the independence of the individual against the Government and those acting for the Government”. Lathrop v Donohue, 367 US 820 (1961), Justice Black, dissenting.

"The legal profession must take great care not to emulate the many occupational groups that have managed to convert licensure from a sharp weapon of public defense into blunt instrument of self-enrichment". Walter Gellhorn, "The Abuse of Occupational Licensing", University of Chicago Law Review, Volume 44 Issue 1, September of 1976.

“Because the law requires that judges no matter how corrupt, who do not act in the clear absence of jurisdiction while performing a judicial act, are immune from suit, former Judge Ciavarella will escape liability for the vast majority of his conduct in this action. This is, to be sure, against the popular will, but it is the very oath which he is alleged to have so indecently, cavalierly, baselessly and willfully violated for personal gain that requires this Court to find him immune from suit”, District Judge A. Richard Caputo in H.T., et al, v. Ciavarella, Jr, et al, Case No. 3:09-cv-00286-ARC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Document 336, page 18, November 20, 2009. This is about judges who were sentencing kids to juvenile detention for kickbacks.


Thursday, April 20, 2017

No prosecution without a legitimate prosecutor - rules judge Breslin of Albany, NY

When I just started my career as an attorney, I had a case in town court in the town of Margaretville, NY, before Judge Gary Rosa - who at that point still pretended to be a decent judge, see how he had changed (or, rather, revealed himself) now, here.

The case was a zoning case, and private attorney Carey Wagner, a real estate lawyer (and that's certainly not my rating of him, I never was his client)



 pretended to prosecute that zoning case, as a criminal prosecutor.

Of course, he had no right to do that, as he was never even sworn as a criminal prosecutor, and was never hired as an Assistant District Attorney.

Not only that, Carey Wagner, according to my client, represented both the complainant in a certain dispute among neighbors, and consulted my client about that same dispute, which still resulted in formation of an attorney-client relationship for purposes of the privilege.  Wagner, thus, was completely disqualified from prosecuting the matter from which he was conflicted out.

Nevertheless, he did proceed, was exceptionally rude with me (as the review of his own client states, too) and was trying to run me over, claiming that I am fresh out of law school, do not know anything, obviously heavily hinting at my immigrant status and at the fact that English was not my native language.

What stirred Wagner's ire most of all is that I obtained, through a FOIL request, from Delaware County Clerk's office (and that office refused to satisfy the request at first, demanding me to tell them my reasons and purposes to ask for public documents, I had to complain to the New York State Committee for Open Government in order to have the Committee talk sense into the Delaware County Clerk), a document showing that they have no oath of office for Mr. Wagner as a criminal prosecutor.

On those grounds, I moved to dismiss criminal charges brought by Mr. Wagner against my client.

Judge Rosa dismissed the case on other grounds, but he obviously tried to stay as far away as possible from any "controversy".

In 2015, when disciplinary prosecutor Mary Gasparini tried to put me in jail when materials from my own disciplinary proceedings (where I was disciplined for criticizing a corrupt judge Carl F. Becker in a motion to recuse), specifically, audio recordings showing that transcripts of two conferences with the referee were cooked, were published online. 

Mary Gasparini also, like Carey Wagner before her, tried to purport that she had authority to bring criminal proceedings against me.

I opposed criminal charges on the law, as a jurisdictional matter, and raised the issue that Mary Gasparini is not a criminal prosecutor and is not authorized to bring criminal charges in New York - among other jurisdictional defects.  Criminal charges were dismissed without an explanation.

An explanation did come, from State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin, of Albany, NY, who dismissed a criminal case because it was brought and prosecuted by a "Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs".  

New York State Attorney General, surprisingly, intervened and sided with the criminal defendant, which, possibly, decided the fate of the case.

In his decision, Justice Breslin agreed with the defendant's argument that only elected prosecutors may bring and prosecute criminal charges in New York.

That is the clear restriction of statutory law, County Law 700.

Yet, several questions now arise in connection with Judge Breslin's decision:

1)  Can now courts continue assign "special prosecutors" who are not elected prosecutors in such counties?  And, are prosecutions commenced and concluded by such special prosecutors legitimate or are they now void?

2) Can town attorneys continue to prosecute zoning cases, without being sworn in as Assistant District Attorneys, and while the Town is a completely different entity from the County, and where such representation is nearly always fraught with conflicts of interest?

3) Can police officers prosecute traffic tickets - as they often do in New York, and especially because procedure for prosecution of traffic tickets in New York is the same as for criminal charges - Criminal Procedure Law?




To bribe a judge in Wisconsin - easy

I wrote on this blog recently regarding the petition of retired judges in Wisconsin asking to set upper limits of bribes to judges, on a sliding scale, depending on the level of the judge.




That petition was, reportedly, just rejected by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.




It is good that the sliding scale of bribes was not legitimized.




But, it is bad that unlimited bribery of judges through campaign donations is still permitted.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Public opinion: victims of (various) abuse, shut up, or your medical, mental, licensing and criminal history will be dragged through dirt

A discussion flared yesterday on Facebook claiming that the outcome of the United Airlines "incident", or rather, assault by security guards on an elderly passenger, a Vietnamese immigrant, a father of five and a grandfather, causing grievous injuries (a concussion, a broken nose and knocked out two front teeth) that, reportedly required a hospitalization and reconstructive surgery, would have been different, but for the passenger's reported "mental health issues".

The report of mental health problems in the background of the passenger, information usually protected by HIPAA laws, information that the commentator used in the derogatory comment, was made available by LA Times.

The same LA Times provided information that the pummeled passenger was allegedly a convicted felon, that his medical license was allegedly suspended in the past for trading prescriptions for sex, that he had psychological evaluations listing anxiety, anger management problems and post traumatic stress disorder, and that his medical license, though restored, required supervision of Dr. Dao's activities as a physician by another doctor.

The pummeling happened on April 9, 2017.  The spokesperson for the airline made false claims against Dr. Dao that could operate to revoke his medical license and claimed he "stood behind" the actions of the employees.



The airline changed course and issued apologies only on April 13, 2017, promising to take "immediate action", only after an "international outrage", after its stocks took a dive and after people started to boycott its services and post this kind of anti-PR for United:



















This video Twitter message shows slapping of a person with the following inscription:


And a video message of an Asian guy who dons a disguise of a white guy not to be dragged off a United flight:






on April 16, 2017 United changed its policy, now prohibiting the crew from forcibly taking passengers off the plane after boarding.


Of course, customers remain outraged at the incompleteness of the policy - since United apparently continues to bump passengers not because of overbooking, but because it wants to save money by using its own planes for last-minute relocation of its own crews.





Yet, here is the comment on Facebook that "had Dr. Dao cooperated with authorities" "and raised his objections later", everything could have been "different".




The author of this post also added this:


It is not clear what "way" "Mr" (the commentator refused to give him his title "Dr") acted that the commentator's friends don't.

It is also not clear why Dr Dao should not have asserted his rights - which was his choice, and only his choice, to do.

But, what is extremely interesting is the airline's curious targeting of an elderly Asian (by race) passenger from the economy class who was flying with his wife to accommodate its crew that was needed to fly a plane from Louisville, KY the following morning (of which the airline somehow was unaware until Dr Dao was allowed to board the flight and take the seat that he paid for).

Why did the airline not choose for "bumping" a passenger who was flying solo, not with his spouse?

Why did the airline choose for "bumping" an Asian passenger - because Asians are known for compliance with authorities?

Why did the airline choose this particular passenger, with the alleged criminal history, a history of suspension of a medical license (which is easily, and instantly, verifiable online), and a current medical license being conditional on supervision - because he would keep his head low and, if he "objects", he can be turned into licensing authorities as a retaliation?

I have a funny feeling that that was exactly the plan of the airline for this passenger - and especially so because the airline waited for 4 days, until


  • until Dr Dao hired a lawyer to contemplate a lawsuit against the airline;
  • until customers started to advertise United's competitors using the incident:


  • until the airline's conduct caused the interest of lawmakers regulators, and

that the airline changed course, apologized to Dr Dao and promised "immediate action".

The first reaction of the airline was:

  • to blame Dr. Dao for his behavior; and
  • to not-so-subtly intimidate him - by checking out his licensing history and claiming that he was "irate and belligerent".


I am sure that, if not for the video and Twitter messages by Dr. Dao's fellow co-passengers, the airline would have turned him in to medical authorities and would have sought to have his medical license yanked as a line of defense and retaliation for the PR disaster.

The only reason it was not done, obviously, is because of the international outrage in the media and social media because the pummeling was documented on cell phones and immediately posted in social networks,



blocking the airline from further pursuing such false claims.


Apparently, the airline offered to Dr Dao a $1000 voucher to get off the plane, leaving his wife behind, which he declined to accept.


And, in this situation, there was a glaring violation of Dr. Dao's ticket contract with the airline, because, by contract, Dr. Dao could only be bumped if the airline was OVERBOOKED.

It wasn't overbooked though, and the United's spokesman acknowledged that - after an uproar about the assault on Dr. Dao.

It simply wanted to fly one of its own crew members instead of Dr. Dao - after declining a FREE offer to fly its crews in such situations on a private jet.

Of course, this is an extraordinary PR blunder.  The airline must have a policy as to how to handle situations when passengers refuse to be "bumped", and the airline must recognize that, once it allowed a passenger to board the plane and take his seat within it, it can no longer bump the passenger, it is just common sense and common fairness.  Such things must be decided before boarding.

If such situations arise after boarding, they must be treated by the airline as extraordinary, and extraordinary apologies, as well as extraordinary amounts of money, should be offered the inconvenienced passenger, and never the use of force.  That is also common sense.

But, what floored me is the continued claims - and the commentator I quoted at the beginning is not the only one - that "had he complied and voiced his objections later", "nothing would have happened", and that his alleged "mental health issues" "contributed" to the "situation".

It has been common to blame the victims of misconduct of powerful people, private or public.

  • She wouldn't have been raped if she did not wear provocative clothing.
  • He wouldn't have been charged if he opened the door and allowed a warrantless search of his house.
  • He wouldn't have been arrested, roughed up, searched, killed by the police if he "complied with the authorities and objected later" - if he did not act the way he did and "ran while black", "'causing" the police to chase and shoot him.
  • She would not have lost her professional license had she shut up, looked the other way and not dared to criticize her own regulator.
  • A 69-year-old Vietnamese immigrant physician would not have been pummeled to the point of having a concussion, broken nose and knocked out teeth, in front of his wife, had he "complied" and walked out of the plane after having been allowed to board it and take his seat.

The tendency to blame the victim is still strong in this country.
Yet, the overall outrage in the world that forced the airline to change course and at least apologize (I did not find any news that any compensation for injuries was so far offered to Dr. Dao and his wife for pain and emotional suffering) shows that the world is moving away from this tendency.

I hope that the airline should suffer such severe repercussions from its own regulator so that it would train its employees to not dare do to any other passenger what it did to Dr. Dao.

I also hope that those who gave Dr. Dao a head concussion, broke his nose and knocked out his teeth, would be charged, as they should, with felonies, as well as those who directed them to remove Dr. Dao by use of force.  That would be the rule of law.

And let's remember - our "mental issues", real or insinuated, are not relevant when we are asserting our rights.

Because, if the law will somehow operate differently if the person asserting his rights is:

  • white, black, Asian, or Native American;
  • does or does not have a criminal history;
  • is or is not a good professional;
  • does or does not have a history of professional license suspensions;
  • does or does not have a history of engaging in behavior involving moral turpitude;
that is IRRELEVANT to what happened to him as a victim of abuse or a crime (of assault, as here).

Because, to deem otherwise means to deem that this nation is not based on the rule of law, but on the rule of men - and that law should apply differently based on the background of people it is supposed to protect.

And, the airline should also better settle with Dr. Dao, for a lot of money, and quick.

The verdict of a jury to Dr. Dao and his wife by the jury in punitive damages - and it is as cut-and-dry case for Dr. Dao and his wife as it can be - can bankrupt United.

And, while CEO Munoz apologized and changed policy, the airline's pilots (and they control what happens when the plane is boarded) "are not buying it" and stand by the actions of the pummeling crew as correct.

Pilots said that:

1) it is the airport's security personnel that handled it wrong and not the airline that ordered the removal of a passenger; and



2) that what mattered is that one person held "safe transportation" of 70 other people to Kentucky - again, let's blame the victim for "non-compliance"


I would once again note that - same as the Facebook commentator who blamed Dr Dao for the way he acted when being taken off airline not because it was overbooked, but because the airline, at the time the flight was fully boarded and waiting for a take-off permission, suddenly expressed a desire to separate him from his wife to give his already boarded seat to their crew member - pilots and the Forbes commentator obviously siding with them, drop the appropriate way of address for the victim, Dr Dao, and describe him either as "David Dao" or as simply "Dao".

And, of course, Dr Dao is blamed for hiring a personal injury lawyer - who wouldn't under the circumstances?

And, of course, Dr Dao is blamed for his lawyer's televised interview.

And of course, pilots are, according to the Forbes' commentator, rightfully infuriated because the United will now "likely have to compensate a belligerent passenger whose attorney will make a case against every weather-caused delay that ever happened".


So, we are now back to double-falsification of facts:

  • that the Dr Dao was injured because he was belligerent; and
  • that he is suing for a frivolous cause - like "a weather-caused delay".
That's, of course, a situation when with such commentators as Ted Reed of Forbes, United does not need enemies.

Blaming the victim continues, but disrespect to the victim will add more millions to the jury verdict against the airline - if the airline will be brain-dead enough to not settle.

And - we the potential customers of airlines are waiting for the news that those who assaulted Dr Dao and who ordered that assault are charged with felonies.

That will be the rule of law.

And, by the way - I haven't heard anything from ACLU on the subject.  It was an immigrant whose rights were affected, wasn't it?




Friday, April 14, 2017

Texas leads the nation in both denying and granting special kinds of immunities to judges

Ok, so we have a Texas state judge (now former judge, but still a licensed attorney) #LayneWalker 





who, according to a court case:


  1. threatened a process server who was trying to serve a summons on him at his home, with a gun;
  2. had his son "chest-bump" that same server, causing the server, for his safety, to try to serve the judge in the courthouse;
  3. prepared his court personnel to
    1. block and oust the server from the courtroom,
    2. take his property (iPhone and videorecording pen),
    3. lie that the pen stolen from the process server was a screwdriver (and thus insinuating that the process server brought a weapon into the courtroom);
    4. have them bring arrest and bring criminal charges against the process server;
    5. have them complain to the licensing boards of the process server and revoke his license and livelihood for 3 months;
    6. fabricate evidence to start criminal proceedings against the process server (since dropped).
Despite all of these CRIMINAL activities,
  • neither the judge, nor his son, nor the judge's court personnel that participated in criminal activities were ever criminally charged - in state or federal court;
  • the judge's law license is not suspended or revoked, and he continues to happily practice law, despite committing MANY BAD crimes, having no integrity and being dangerous for the public.

So, the process server had to sue.

The trial court - let's give it credit - denied judicial immunity to the judge, who claimed it.

And, let's give the appellate court credit - it did DENY immunity to the judge for malicious prosecution that happened outside of the courtroom - because it was not in connection with a court case (if that was an attorney or a litigant, and it was "in connection" to a court case, they would have been screwed and not protected in case of the same misconduct of a judge, and a complaining attorney would have definitely lost his law license).

But, the Texas appellate court gave the judge a different kind of immunity - under Texas "anti-SLAPP" statute, where nothing can be done to a person if that person is making statements on issues of public concern (misconduct of a judge, the judge being his own self).

But, the question now arises - if judges are given anti-SLAPP immunity from prosecution, why not give the same anti-SLAPP immunity to attorneys criticizing judges?

Well, at least, the Texas court did more than the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and the 2nd Circuit recently did.

It DENIED judicial immunity for actions of a judge that happened outside of the courtroom and outside of a court case.


So, the Texas court decision, with all its flawed, is revolutionary, as compared to the federal court decisions in NDNY and the 2nd Circuit.

==
And, here is a full text of the Hartman v Walker case:

Walker v. Hartman, 09-16-00299-CV (TexApp Dist 03/30/2017)
April 13, 2017

On Appeal from the 58th District Court Jefferson County, Texas
Trial Cause No. A-198,246
Submitted on January 27, 2017
Opinion Delivered March 30, 2017
Before McKeithen, C.J., Kreger and Horton, JJ.
OPINION
STEVE McKEITHEN CHIEF JUSTICE
Appellant Layne Walker appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss appellee Stephen Hartman's lawsuit[1] against him pursuant to the Texas Citizens' Participation Act ("TCPA"). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001–.011 (West 2015), § 51.014(a)(12) (West Supp. 2016) (providing for an interlocutory appeal of the denial of a motion to dismiss filed under section 27.003 of the TCPA). In five appellate issues, Walker argues that: (1) Hartman's legal action was based on, related to, or in response to Walker's exercise of his right of free speech or to petition; (2) Walker's motion to dismiss under the TCPA was timely; (3) Hartman's nonsuit of his defamation claims after Walker moved to dismiss did not prevent the trial court from granting relief under the TCPA; (4) Walker showed each element of one or more defenses to Hartman's claims by a preponderance of the evidence; and (5) Hartman did not marshal clear and specific evidence of a prima facie case for each essential element of his claims. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
BACKGROUND
On May 28, 2013, Hartman, a licensed investigator and licensed process server employed by Klein Investigations and Consulting, entered the courtroom of the 252nd District Court while Walker, the former judge of said court, was presiding. Hartman pleaded that he approached the bar in the courtroom, but did not cross it, and after motioning for the bailiff, Deputy Lewis, to come toward him, he whispered to Lewis that he needed to serve Walker with a summons.[2] According to Hartman, Lewis walked to Deputy Broussard, and Broussard "rushed toward Hartman and immediately began pushing Hartman to the exit door, stating Hartman needed to 'leave or go under arrest.'" According to Hartman's petition, he did not attempt to serve Walker in court.
Hartman pleaded that although he identified himself as a licensed process server and did nothing disruptive, Deputies Lewis and Broussard, as well as Deputy Barker, placed Hartman under arrest and confiscated his personal property, which included, among other things, his iPhone and a video recording pen that had captured the events. Hartman also pleaded that the officers used excessive force during his arrest and detained him for an excessively long period of time. Hartman alleged that Walker knew in advance that Hartman intended to attempt to serve him and that Walker had instructed Deputies Lewis, Broussard, and Barker to arrest Hartman when Hartman stated his intention to serve the summons.
According to Hartman's petition, the three deputies subsequently allowed Hartman to serve the summons on Walker in the jury room. Hartman pleaded that he was told he would be charged with interfering with public duties and disrupting a public meeting, and he alleged that Deputies Broussard, Barker, and Lewis falsified probable cause affidavits to support those charges. In addition, Hartman alleged that Walker and other defendants, working together, replaced Hartman's recording pen with a pocket screwdriver "as part of their scheme to hide Hartman's recording pen and its evidence[.]" Hartman also alleged that Walker's court coordinator "maliciously sought to revoke Hartman's professional licenses[]" by filing formal complaints with the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau, the Texas Process Server Review Board, and the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators (a trade association).[3] As a result of the complaints being filed, Hartman's licenses as a private investigator, personal protection officer, and commissioned security guard were suspended for approximately three months until his criminal case was dismissed.
Hartman also pleaded that "Walker, with the participation by overt acts by all other Defendants[,] … prosecuted a malicious, illegal criminal case against Hartman[.]" Hartman alleged that Walker and other defendants "illegally purported to, or pretended to, hire Joe Alford to serve as a District Attorney Pro Tem (DAPT), and arranged for illegal payment of Joe Alford out of the Texas Indigent Defense Fund (IDF)."
According to Hartman, Walker instructed Broussard to take Hartman's recording pen home, where Broussard downloaded it onto a CD and attempted to delete the pen's contents.[4] According to Hartman, Walker and other
defendants instructed the persons who were present in the courtroom during the incident "to provide perjured affidavits and one false witness statement[] to support Hartman's arrest and prosecution[]" and instructed sheriff's deputies to prepare falsified arrest reports and probable cause affidavits. Hartman's petition alleged that the recording pen contained evidence proving that the probable cause arrest affidavits and reports, as well as the affidavits of witnesses, were "perjured and materially false[.]" Hartman further alleged that the defendants who participated in a "pattern of denials and obfuscations about the existence of the recording pen and its evidence" acted on the personal orders of Walker and other defendants.
Hartman pleaded that the individual defendants all "acted in a civil conspiracy to perpetrate Texas torts against Hartman, through collective misconduct, with a unity of purpose and goals, in order to damage Hartman." According to Hartman's petition, the goals of the conspiracy were to maliciously and illegally prosecute Hartman, to destroy Hartman's career, and to maliciously inflict "as much emotional and psychological harm and damage on Hartman as possible." Hartman pleaded that Walker and other defendants caused Hartman to be maliciously prosecuted, and he pleaded that he was suing all of the defendants, "jointly and severally, for the tort of malicious prosecution."[5]
Hartman further pleaded that he was suing Walker in his individual capacity "because Walker was not only a coconspirator, but also Walker is ultimately the instigator of the civil conspiracy at issue in this case." Hartman pleaded that Walker's tortious misconduct stemmed from "non-judicial actions outside the scope of his jurisdiction as a judge[]" and that "Walker's misconduct was not based on his adjudication of any case lawfully assigned to his court." Additionally, Hartman pleaded that he was not a party or a witness to any case pending in Walker's court, and Hartman asserted that Walker's non-judicial acts were not protected by judicial immunity. According to Hartman, Walker's misconduct did not involve normal judicial functions; all of Walker's alleged misconduct, except for Walker's order to Broussard to arrest Hartman, occurred outside the courtroom; Walker's alleged misconduct did not occur in a case Walker was adjudicating; and Hartman did not attempt to visit Walker in Walker's official capacity.
Hartman pleaded that he sought "joint and several liability against all of the Defendants … because each action of each Defendant, as well as each tort perpetrated by each Defendant, was an overt act in furtherance of the civil conspiracy to maliciously prosecute Hartman and to destroy his career."[6] In addition, Hartman sought imposition of punitive damages "against all the Defendants jointly and severally under Texas law[.]" Hartman filed numerous exhibits with the trial court, including, among other things, two affidavits signed by Hartman (one from the complaint he filed against Walker with the Judicial Conduct Commission and a second affidavit signed on May 28, 2013), the court reporter's transcript of the proceedings taking place in the courtroom when the incident that led to Hartman's arrest occurred,[7] and testimony taken before one of the boards with which Walker filed a complaint against Hartman. Our review of the appellate record does not reveal any affidavits from Walker.
WALKER'S MOTION TO DISMISS UNDER THE TCPA
Walker filed a motion to dismiss Hartman's entire case under the TCPA. Referring to the allegations in Hartman's original petition, Walker asserted that Hartman had sued him for "defamation and related torts." Walker argued that the trial court should dismiss Hartman's claims regarding Walker's filing of complaints with the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau, the Texas Process Server Review Board, and the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators "because they are based on, related to, or in response to Walker's exercise of the right to petition[,]" and the services provided by process servers are related to community well-being. Walker also complained in his motion to dismiss that Hartman had filed a motion to strike allegedly objectionable, defamatory, and ad hominem portions of Walker's pleadings. According to Walker, Hartman's motion to strike constituted a "legal action" as defined by the TCPA. Walker further asserted that all of his actions were protected by the judicial communications privilege, and he characterizes the other torts asserted by Hartman, which include malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy, as tag-along torts that must also be dismissed.
In response, Hartman argued that: (1) Walker's motion to dismiss was untimely because Hartman had previously asserted the same causes of action against Walker in a lawsuit filed in federal court; (2) Walker lacked standing to
assert the motion because he had testified before the Process Server Review Board that his court coordinator unilaterally completed the grievances and used his signature stamp; (3) Walker presented no case law or evidence that any of the boards with which he filed complaints have quasi-judicial powers; (4) the claims in the grievances were false and therefore did not constitute the exercise of free speech; and (5) Walker's TCPA motion only affects Hartman's past claims for defamation and tortious interference, and because those claims have been dismissed the issue is moot.
After conducting a hearing, the trial court signed an order denying Walker's motion to dismiss. The trial judge did not explain the basis for her ruling in the order, nor did she sign findings of fact and conclusions of law.
ISSUE TWO
In his second issue, which we address first, Walker argues that his motion to dismiss under the TCPA was timely filed. Section 27.003(b) of the TCPA provides that "[a] motion to dismiss a legal action under this section must be filed not later than the 60th day after the date of service of the legal action." Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.003(b). As discussed above, Hartman argued before the trial court that Walker's motion to dismiss was untimely because Hartman had previously asserted the same causes of action, based upon the same facts, against Walker in a lawsuit filed in federal court in June 2013, and Hartman makes the same argument in his brief before this Court. According to Hartman, because the federal court refused to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his tort claims, Hartman was required to refile his lawsuit in state court, and he points out that "such filing tolls limitations" back to the date he originally filed his federal complaint. Hartman asserts the state court proceeding is therefore part of the same litigation he filed in federal court in June of 2013. Hartman argues that the state case is based on the same nucleus of operative facts, has the same individual defendants, and asserts the same torts as the federal lawsuit. He also points out that "the TCPA may be asserted to seek dismissal of a state court defamation claim in a federal case."
Each of the cases Hartman cites in support of his argument that Walker's TCPA motion was untimely involved subsequent petitions, claims, or counterclaims filed within the same lawsuit, not the situation presented here; that is, successive lawsuits filed in different courts. See Lexington Ins. Co. v. Daybreak Express, Inc., 393 S.W.3d 242, 242–43 (Tex. 2013); Hicks v. Group & Pension Adm'rs, Inc., 473 S.W.3d 518, 527 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2015, no pet.); In re Estate of Check, 438 S.W.3d 829, 836–37 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2014, no pet.); Miller Weisbrod, L.L.P. v. Llamas-Soforo, No. 08-12-00278-CV, 2014 WL 6679122, at *9–11 (Tex. App.—El Paso Nov. 25, 2014, no pet.) (not yet released for publication). The purpose of the TCPA "is to encourage and safeguard the constitutional rights of persons to petition, speak freely, associate freely, and otherwise participate in government to the maximum extent permitted by law and, at the same time, protect the rights of a person to file meritorious lawsuits for demonstrable injury." Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.002. The TCPA "shall be construed liberally to effectuate its purpose and intent fully[,]" but the TCPA "does not abrogate or lessen any other defense, remedy, immunity, or privilege available under other constitutional, statutory, case, or common law or rule provisions." Id. § 27.011.
Taking into account the broad purpose of the TCPA, as well as the lack of authority for the proposition that a common nucleus of operative facts makes a subsequent lawsuit filed in a different court tantamount to the lawsuit previously filed, we conclude that Walker's TCPA motion to dismiss was timely filed. See generally id. §§ 27.002, 27.011. We sustain issue two.
ISSUES ONE, THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE
In issue one, Walker argues that Hartman's legal action was based on, related to, or in response to Walker's exercise of his right of free speech or to petition. Walker's third issue asserts that Hartman's nonsuit of his defamation claims after Walker moved to dismiss did not prevent the trial court from granting relief under the TCPA. In issue four, Walker argues that he showed each element of one or more defenses to Hartman's claims by a preponderance of the evidence, and in issue five, Walker contends that Hartman did not marshal clear and specific evidence of a prima facie case for each essential element of his claims.
The TCPA permits a litigant to seek dismissal of a "legal action" that is "based on, relates to, or is in response to a party's exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or right of association[.]" Id. § 27.003(a). The statute broadly defines a "legal action" as "a lawsuit, cause of action, petition, complaint, cross-claim, or counterclaim or any other judicial pleading or filing that requests legal or equitable relief." Id. § 27.001(6). The party moving to dismiss under the TCPA bears the initial burden of demonstrating that he has been sued for exercising his First Amendment rights. Id. § 27.005(b).
Once the moving party establishes that the suit implicates First Amendment rights, the burden shifts to the party bringing the action, who must then adduce "clear and specific evidence" of a prima facie case as to each element of the claim. Id. § 27.005(c); In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 586–87 (Tex. 2015). In determining whether the claim should be dismissed, "the court shall consider the pleadings and supporting and opposing affidavits stating the facts on which the liability or defense is based." Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.006(a). "Under [s] ection 27.006 of the Act, the trial court may consider pleadings as evidence." Serafine v. Blunt, 466 S.W.3d 352, 360 (Tex. App.—Austin 2015, no pet.). The Supreme Court has noted that "[c]lear and specific evidence is not a recognized evidentiary standard[,]" and "[a]lthough it sounds similar to clear and convincing evidence, the phrases are not legally synonymous." In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 589. In addition, the Supreme Court noted that the term "prima facie case" "refers to evidence sufficient as a matter of law to establish a given fact if it is not rebutted or contradicted." Id. at 590.
The Supreme Court explained that under the TCPA, general allegations that merely recite the elements of a cause of action will not suffice; rather, "a plaintiff must provide enough detail to show the factual basis for its claim." Id. at 590–91. Although the TCPA "initially demands more information about the underlying claim, the Act does not impose an elevated evidentiary standard or categorically reject circumstantial evidence." Id. at 591. If the non-movant meets his burden, the movant may still obtain a dismissal by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence each essential element of a valid defense to the claims. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.005(d).
The issue of whether Walker met his burden of establishing that Hartman's case related to Walker's exercise of his First Amendment rights is a legal question that we review de novo on appeal. Rehak Creative Servs., Inc. v. Witt, 404 S.W.3d 716, 725 (Tex. 2013). When the trial court denied Walker's motion to dismiss, it did not expressly determine whether Walker had met his burden. As previously discussed, Hartman's original petition asserted claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships stemming from Walker's filing of formal complaints against Hartman with the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau, the Texas Process Server Review Board, and the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators. Hartman later nonsuited those claims by filing an amended petition which omitted them.
Based upon the allegations asserted in Hartman's original petition and affidavits, as well as in response to Walker's motion, we conclude that Walker established that a portion of Hartman's lawsuit related to Walker's exercise of his First Amendment rights, which brings Hartman's lawsuit within the purview of the TCPA. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.001 (3) (stating that the exercise of free speech means a communication made in connection with a matter of public concern); see id. § 27.001(7) (stating that a communication includes submitting a document in any form regarding a matter of public concern, such as community wellbeing). We sustain issue one.
Having determined that a portion of Hartman's lawsuit related to Walker's exercise of his First Amendment rights and that Walker timely filed his motion to dismiss under the TCPA, we now turn to issue three, in which Walker argues that Hartman's decision to nonsuit his claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships does not prevent the trial court from granting relief under the TCPA. As discussed above, it appears that Hartman's only remaining claims against Walker are malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy. In Rauhauser v. McGibney, No. 02-14-00215-CV, 2014 WL 6996819 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 11, 2014, no pet.) (not yet released for publication), the Fort Worth Court of Appeals was presented with a case involving the operator of websites who sued various defendants for "defamation, defamation per se, business disparagement, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business relationships, and other non[-] defamation torts[ ]" related to the defendants' postings of allegedly threatening and defamatory statements on the
websites. Id. at *1. The appellees decided to nonsuit certain claims, and Rauhauser argued that his TCPA motion to dismiss survived the nonsuit. Id. at *2.
The Rauhauser court noted that "[a]lthough a plaintiff decides which of its own claims to pursue or to abandon, that decision does not control the fate of a nonmoving party's independent claims for affirmative relief." Id. According to the Court, "a defendant's motion to dismiss that may afford more relief than a nonsuit affords constitutes a claim for affirmative relief that survives a nonsuit[.]" Id. The Court concluded that Rauhauser's TCPA motion to dismiss survived the nonsuit because, unlike a nonsuit, the TCPA motion to dismiss might also allow Rauhauser to obtain a dismissal with prejudice, attorney's fees, and sanctions. Id. at *2–3. For the same reasons explained in Rauhauser, we conclude that Walker's motion to dismiss under the TCPA survived Hartman's nonsuiting of certain causes of action. See id. We sustain issue three to that extent; however, we must address issues four and five to determine whether the trial court erred by denying Walker's motion to dismiss.
In issue five, Walker argues that Hartman did not marshal clear and specific evidence of a prima facie case for each essential element of his claims. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.005(c). Walker asserts that Hartman failed to do so as to his claims for defamation and tortious interference, which Hartman has nonsuited, but Walker does not address whether Hartman met the elements of his additional tort claims. By filing an amended pleading that omitted his claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships, we agree that Hartman failed to prove those causes of action by clear and specific evidence. See id. § 27.006(a) (providing that a trial court shall consider pleadings, as well as supporting and opposing affidavits, in determining whether to dismiss); Rauhauser, 2014 WL 6996819 at *2–3.
Both before the trial court and in this appeal, Walker seeks dismissal of Hartman's entire case, not merely parts thereof. Walker characterizes Hartman's claims for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy as merely tagalong or related torts that must necessarily be dismissed because Hartman's claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships, which no longer exist, fall within the purview of the TCPA. When a legal action is in response to both expression protected by the TCPA and other unprotected activity, the legal action is subject to dismissal only to the extent that it is in response to the protected conduct, as opposed to being subject to dismissal in its entirety. Serafine, 466 S.W.3d at 393.
We disagree with Walker's contentions that Hartman failed to make a prima facie case and that the causes of action Hartman alleges for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy are tag-along torts, thereby making the entire lawsuit subject to dismissal under the TCPA. As discussed above, Hartman's live petition asserts causes of action for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy. To prove a malicious criminal prosecution claim, the plaintiff must establish: (1) the commencement of a criminal prosecution against him; (2) initiation or procurement of the action by the defendant; (3) termination of the prosecution in the plaintiff's favor; (4) the plaintiff's innocence; (5) the absence of probable cause for the proceedings; (6) malice in filing the charge; and (7) damage to the plaintiff. Kroger Tex. Ltd. P'ship v. Suberu, 216 S.W.3d 788, 792 n.3 (Tex. 2006); Richey v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 952 S.W.2d 515, 517 (Tex. 1997). The elements of a civil conspiracy are: (1) a combination of two or more persons; (2) to accomplish an unlawful purpose or a lawful purpose by unlawful means; (3) a meeting of the minds on the object or course of action; (4) one or more unlawful, overt acts; and (5) the plaintiff suffered injury as a proximate result of the wrongful act. Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. Morris, 981 S.W.2d 667, 675 (Tex. 1998). Liability for conspiracy comes from the act done to further the conspiracy, not the conspiracy itself. Carroll v. Timmers Chevrolet, Inc., 592 S.W.2d 922, 925 (Tex. 1979). The elements of a conspiracy claim require participation in some underlying intentional tort. Hong Kong Dev., Inc. v. Nguyen, 229 S.W.3d 415, 448 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, no pet.). "Malicious prosecution is an intentional tort." Closs v. Goose Creek Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist., 874 S.W.2d 859, 869 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 1994, no writ).
We conclude that Hartman's live pleadings and affidavits, which we are required to consider as evidence under the TCPA, allege facts if neither rebutted nor contradicted, demonstrate the elements of causes of action for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy as to Walker, and those causes of action are not dependent upon nor related to Walker's reporting of Hartman to boards and a trade association governing private investigators and process servers. See Serafine, 466 S.W.3d at 360; In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 590; Suberu, 216 S.W.3d at 792 n.3; Morris, 981 S.W.2d at 675; Richey, 952 S.W.2d at 517; see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §
27.006. Because Hartman made a prima facie case by marshaling clear and specific evidence of each essential element of his claims for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy, we overrule issue five. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.005(c), 27.006.
In issue four, Walker contends that he established by a preponderance of the evidence each essential element of a valid defense to Hartman's claims. Specifically, Walker argues that he showed that he is protected by the judicial communications privilege and the quasi-judicial communications privilege as to Hartman's former claims for tortious interference with business relationships and defamation, as well as to Hartman's motion to strike portions of Walker's pleadings. As explained above, because Hartman nonsuited his claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships, we agree that Hartman has failed to make a prima facie case as to those causes of action. See id. § 27.005(c). Therefore, we need not address whether Walker proved a valid defense as to Hartman's claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships.
With the exception of arguing that Hartman's claims for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy are tag-along torts that are related to Hartman's previous claims for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships, Walker does not address them. We must now determine whether Walker demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence his defenses of judicial immunity and quasi-judicial immunity as to Hartman's claims for malicious criminal prosecution and civil conspiracy. See id. § 27.005(d) (providing that "the court shall dismiss a legal action against the moving party if the moving party establishes by a preponderance of the evidence each essential element of a valid defense to the nonmovant's claim").
A judge "shall require order and decorum in proceedings before the judge." Tex. Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3(B) (3), reprinted in Tex. Gov't Code Ann., tit. 2, subtit. G app. B (West 2013). A judge has immunity when acting in the course of a judicial proceeding over which he has jurisdiction. Turner v. Pruitt, 342 S.W.2d 422, 423 (Tex. 1961). The doctrine of absolute judicial immunity encompasses all judicial acts unless the judge's actions clearly fall outside the judge's subject-matter jurisdiction. Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11 (1991); Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349,356–57 (1978); Dallas Cty. v. Halsey, 87 S.W.3d 552, 554 (Tex. 2002); Spencer v. City of Seagoville, 700 S.W.2d 953, 957–58 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1985, no writ). "A judge will not be deprived of immunity because he was in error, took action maliciously[,] or was in excess of his authority; rather he will be subject to liability only when he has acted in the clear absence of all jurisdiction." Brandley v. Keeshan, 64 F.3d 196, 200 (5th Cir. 1995) (abrogated on other grounds by Mapes v. Bishop, 541 F.35 582, 584 (5th Cir. 2008)) (citing Stump, 435 U.S. at 359). "Judicial acts include those performed by judges in adjudicating, or otherwise exercising their judicial authority over, proceedings pending in their courts." Twilligear v. Carrell, 148 S.W.3d 502, 505 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. denied). Whether an act is judicial or nonjudicial is determined by the nature of the act; that is, whether it is a function normally performed by a judge, as opposed to other acts that simply happen to have been performed by a judge. Id. (citing Forrester v. White, 484 U.S. 219, 227 (1988)).
On the other hand, quasi-judicial immunity and other similar terms, such as official immunity or qualified immunity, are all "used interchangeably to refer to the same affirmative defense available to governmental employees sued in their individual capacities." Baylor College of Med. v. Hernandez, 208 S.W.3d 4, 11 n.7 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied). "Government employees are entitled to official immunity from suit arising from the performance of their (1) discretionary duties in (2) good faith as long as they are (3) acting within the scope of their authority." Id. at 11.
Although we agree that Walker is entitled to judicial immunity for ordering Hartman's arrest when a disturbance (regardless of the cause of the disturbance) involving Hartman occurred in Walker's courtroom while Walker was presiding, we do not agree that Walker's alleged actions subsequent to Hartman's arrest are protected by judicial immunity. See generally Tex. Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3(B)(3). Hartman's alleged causes of action for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy, as pleaded, occurred after Hartman had been removed from Walker's courtroom. See generally Warren v. McLennan Cty. Judiciary, No. 10-09-00274- CV, 2010 WL 2869817, at *2 (Tex. App.—Waco July 14, 2010, no pet.) (mem. op) (citing Ballard v. Wall, 413 F.3d 510, 517 (5th Cir. 2005) (holding that when a court has some subject matter jurisdiction, judicial immunity applies unless the judge's action was nonjudicial)).
In Ballard, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considered four factors in determining whether a judge's conduct was protected by judicial immunity: (1) whether the judge's actions were a normal judicial function; (2) whether the judge's actions occurred inside the courtroom; (3) whether the controversy centered around a case pending before the judge; and (4) whether the judge was acting in her official capacity. 413 F.3d at 515–16. In this case, Walker's alleged actions after Hartman's arrest include, among other things, replacing Hartman's recording pen with a screwdriver, illegally hiring and paying a District Attorney Pro Tem to prosecute Hartman, instructing officers to take Hartman's recording pen home, obtaining allegedly perjured witness affidavits and probable cause affidavits to support Hartman's arrest and prosecution, and causing Hartman to be maliciously prosecuted. These are not normal judicial functions. These alleged actions occurred outside the courtroom, did not center around a case pending before Walker, and did not involve Walker acting in his official capacity. See id. Accordingly, Walker did not show, by a preponderance of the evidence, the existence of the defense of judicial immunity. See id.; see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 27.005(d).
We turn now to Walker's assertion that he proved his defense of quasi-judicial immunity by a preponderance of the evidence. As noted above, Walker discusses his quasi-judicial immunity argument only in the context of the complaints he filed against Hartman and how those complaints pertain to Hartman's former causes of action for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships. We analyze Walker's claim of quasi-judicial immunity solely with respect to Hartman's remaining claims for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy. As we concluded above, with the exception of ordering Hartman arrested in the courtroom, Walker was not acting in his official capacity when he allegedly committed the acts complained of by Hartman in his pleadings and affidavits. As such, Walker is not entitled to quasi-judicial immunity for the acts which Hartman asserts constitute malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy. See Hernandez, 208 S.W.3d at 11.
As part of his argument in issue four, Walker asserts that the absolute judicial communications privilege requires the trial court to dismiss Hartman's motion to strike, in which Hartman argued that certain portions of Walker's pleadings were objectionable for various reasons. According to Walker, the trial court was required to dismiss Hartman's motion to strike because it constituted a "legal action" that implicates Walker's right to petition. Section 27.001(6) of the TCPA defines a legal action as "a lawsuit, cause of action, petition, complaint, crossclaim, or counterclaim or any other judicial pleading or filing that requests legal or equitable relief." Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.001(6). As was the case with his other arguments before the trial court and on appeal, Walker did not argue that only certain pleadings or causes of action be dismissed or stricken, but that Hartman's lawsuit be dismissed in its entirety. Given the posture of the case, we cannot conclude that the trial court erred by signing an order denying Walker's TCPA motion to dismiss. For all of the above reasons, we overrule issue four.
Having determined that Hartman has met his burden for each element of his claims for malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy and that Walker did not demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence each essential element of a valid defense to these claims, we affirm the trial court's order denying Walker's motion to dismiss under the TCPA. See id. § 27.005(c), (d).
AFFIRMED.
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Notes:
[1] Hartman sued Walker and numerous other defendants.
[2] Hartman pleaded that, for safety reasons, he decided to attempt to serve Walker at the courthouse with a bailiff's cooperation because when Hartman had previously attempted to serve Walker at his residence, Walker had a gun, and Walker's son chest-bumped Hartman.
[3] These allegations were also made against Walker individually in Hartman's original petition, but Hartman deleted these allegations as to Walker in a subsequent petition. However, Hartman did plead that Walker's court coordinator acted "on behalf of Walker" and used Walker's signature stamp.
[4] The record indicates that after an internal investigation, the Sheriff recommended Broussard's termination.
[5] The criminal case against Hartman was ultimately dismissed.
[6] In his original petition, Hartman also asserted that Walker, acting through his court coordinator, had tried to "destroy Hartman's ability to earn a living in his professions by defaming Hartman per se to all of the Boards that issued licenses to Hartman, with the goal of these Boards confiscating Hartman's professional licenses." Hartman's original petition also asserted that Walker tortiously interfered with Hartman's business relationships. However, the defamation and tortious interference with business relationships allegations do not appear in Hartman's second amended petition, which was the live petition when the trial court ruled on Walker's motion to dismiss. In addition, Hartman originally asserted a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against all of the defendants; however, Hartman's counsel stated at the hearing on Walker's motion to dismiss that he had dismissed the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and that claim does not appear in Hartman's live petition.
[7] Walker moved to strike the exhibits, but the trial court signed an order denying Walker's motion to strike.