Steve Fischer.

Being true to his reputation, El Paso solo practitioner Steve Fischer has been stirring up trouble in his new position on the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct—the group that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct.

And it's yielded a complaint against the controversial attorney.

Fischer, a former State Bar of Texas board member, has a history of successfully pushing for reform. But he's also torpedoed his own political aspirations through comments on social media.

Now, Fischer has gone head-to-head with commission chairman David Hall over rules that prevent him from making public statements about the commission.

Hall has said that only the chairman or the commission's executive director can comment for the group. But Fischer maintains he has First Amendment rights to talk about some topics—not complaints about judges or internal deliberations, but about his opinions on non-confidential business.

The battle between Hall and Fischer has been raging since Fischer first arrived on the commission in December 2019. It reached a boiling point in late March, when Hall wrote an official complaint against Fischer that listed nine pages of alleged misconduct.

The complaint drew up grounds for removing Fischer from the commission under the Texas Government Code.

In response, Fischer wrote that he wouldn't back down. His March 30 response letter claimed that Hall wants secrecy in all the commission's work, but that Fischer thinks the public has a right to know.

Fischer has been an advocate of free speech and freedom of the press since he was a young adult in the 1970s. He joined the commission with the express goal of increasing its transparency with the public.

"That's always been a big thing for me: Transparency in government is important," Fischer said, noting that he has advocated for more transparency at the State Bar of Texas in the past. "The public, and even experienced lawyers, don't know what goes on at the commission."

Hall didn't return an email seeking comment. Neither did commission executive director Jacqueline Habersham.

What's Next?

When there's a complaint about a judicial conduct commissioner, Texas law says that a letter must go to the Texas Supreme Court chief justice and the governor's office, explained Chief Justice Nathan Hecht.

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

"That's all it says. It doesn't say what should happen next," he said. "As far as I know, we've never gotten one."

The other justices already know about the complaint against Fischer, Hecht said. The high court may discuss it at a court conference, but Hecht said he could not say if it's already on the schedule. He also wouldn't share his own thoughts about the complaint.

"If the court took any action, it would be public," Hecht said.

State Bar of Texas president Randy Sorrels, one of the recipients of the complaint, said that he talked with both Hall and Fischer, and got the impression that the matter has already been resolved.

"I don't think the State Bar is going to do anything at this point," he said.

Facebook Follies

Fischer is well-known in Texas legal circles.

In 2013 he became only the second candidate in State Bar of Texas history to run to become the group's president-elect by gathering lawyers' signatures on a petition.

Fischer advanced to the first runoff in bar history against Trey Apffel—who's now the bar's executive director. During the runoff, Fischer enjoyed wide support from solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys, but other lawyers raised a red flag about improper comments he'd posted on Facebook.

Critics called the comments racist toward Mexicans, and said the postings attacked Catholics and criticized people who believe in organized religion.

Sorrels was one of the attorneys who'd opposed Fischer's candidacy.

When the allegations were raised during the 2013 runoff, Fischer responded that his comments were meant to be sarcastic, and that his critics had taken them out of context.

Apffel won the runoff, but Fischer gained a massive following of reform-minded attorneys.

Fischer took his experience and successfully pushed the bar to reform its election rules. He's credited with opening up the president-elect position to future petition candidates, including immediate past president Joe Longley. He's also created groups for Texas attorneys on Facebook that he says have over 25,000 members.

Disclosure

Texas Lawyer requested a copy of the Fischer complaint from the Texas Bar under a Texas Public Information Act request. That request is still pending, but in the meantime, Fischer on his own initiative emailed the complaint, and his response, to a Texas Lawyer reporter.

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Read the complaint:

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Hall wrote the March 23 complaint to Gov. Greg Abbott, the Supreme Court chief justice, the bar president and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. No one from Abbott's or Paxton's press offices responded to emails seeking comment.

Hall alleged in the complaint that Fischer has shown willful, persistent conduct to discredit the commission. He alleged Fischer disclosed confidential commission complaints, proceedings and deliberations, and has discussed legal strategies and privileged communications.

Hall also claimed Fischer was intemperate or abusive toward commissioners, staff, respondent judges and respondent counsel.

In Fischer's response, he denied intemperate interactions with commission staff and members.

But the complaint alleged Hall has received multiple complaints about Fischer.