Scope: Federal (Texas)
Branch: Judicial
Severity: Amber
Date occurred: December 31, 2024
Phase: 2024
In Webster v. Commission for Lawyer Discipline, the Texas Supreme Court held that a disciplinary complaint collaterally accusing the state's first-assistant attorney general of making misrepresentations in a U.S. Supreme Court petition alleging 2020 election irregularities violated separation-of-powers principles. The court found that while the judicial branch has authority to enforce attorney conduct rules generally, the attorney general holds exclusive constitutional authority to assess the propriety of filing suit and the representations made in it.
Constitutional basis: Texas judiciary limiting its own disciplinary reach out of respect for the Attorney General's prosecutorial discretion, raising open questions about accountability for executive branch attorneys
Sources
- State Court Report