Spring 2017 Vol. 6, No. 3 General Editor Lynne Liberato Executive Editor David Furlow
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Spring 2017 Vol. 6, No. 3 General Editor Lynne Liberato Executive Editor David Furlow Columns Lead Articles Message from the President The Role of Juries in Libel Litigation A 21st Century Clash with Prohibition: By Macey Reasoner Stokes under the Texas Constitution The First Amendment Meets Texas’s Since my last By Chip Babcock message, there have Arcane Alcohol Laws The Texas Declaration been a number of By Peter D. Kennedy of Independence developments I would For almost two hundred contained a complaint like to share with you. years, the Constitution that there had been a Read more... did not protect your Macey Reasoner denial of the right to right to true information Stokes jury. Read more... Chip Babcock about products for Executive Director’s Page sale—like a well-made beer. Read more... Peter D. Kennedy By Pat Nester In my quest to entice Don’t Mess with the you to attend the First Amendment in Texas Texas State Historical By Alicia Wagner Calzada When LBJ Got His Way: The Making Association Annual Texas has some of the of a Texas Federal Judge, 1959 Meeting, here are some nation’s strongest laws By Stephen Pate nuggets from the March protecting the rights of Pat Nester In 1959 a powerful 2 –4 event. Read more... a free press and free Senator stalled all speech. But it was not pending judicial always this way. Alicia Wagner nominations until his Read more... Fellows Column Calzada preferred candidate By David J. Beck was nominated by the Our acclaimed judicial President. Read more... Stephen Pate civics and history book Free Speech and Prior Restraint in Taming Texas: How Law and Order Came Texas, with Some Help from Hollywood to the Lone Star State, By JT Morris continues to be taught Despite the renown in schools throughout David J. Beck given the First Houston. Read more... Amendment, the Texas Constitution is another source of strong protection for Executive Editor’s Page expressive rights. JT Morris By David A. Furlow Read more... This issue of the Journal examines how Texas’s judges, justices, and lawyers have preserved, protected, and expanded freedom of speech, writing, and the David A. Furlow press. Read more... Features Book Reviews Chief Justice Jack Pope: Bidding Case Update: Moore v. Texas Patricia Bernstein’s Ten Dollars to Hate: Farewell to Our Common Law Judge By Jani Maselli Wood The Texas Man Who Fought the Klan The U.S. Supreme Court By Marilyn P. Duncan Book review rejected the Texas The extent of this by Terence L. O’Rourke scheme for determining judicial legend’s Bernstein paints a whether someone’s contributions can best political-cultural diorama intellectual disability be understood by of Texas and America in made them ineligible to looking back at how his the early 20th century, be executed. Jani Maselli Wood career unfolded. explaining how bias, Chief Justice Pope Read more... Read more... fear, and hatred can become so virulent and ubiquitous. Read more... In Memoriam: James P. Wallace, Taming Texas Judicial Civics and Court Justice (ret.), Supreme Court of Texas History Project: Spring 2017 Update By Warren W. Harris James L. Haley’s His record of public Photos by David A. Furlow The Shores of Tripoli: Lieutenant service as a Judge, Sponsored by the Justice, and State Society’s Fellows, the Putnam and the Barbary Pirates Senator earned him project sends judges Book review wide respect in the legal and attorneys into 7th- by Marilyn P. Duncan community. grade Texas history Jim Haley, the Society’s Justice Wallace Read more... classrooms to teach the own historian, is at his history and workings of best when he lends the state’s court system. Taming Texas his narrative talents Pat Nester: Looking Back, Moving On Read more... book cover to making historical Interview by Marilyn P. Duncan characters and events As no one has succeeded come alive. Read more... in convincing him to stay longer, we’re faced with saying goodbye to our retiring Executive Director. Read more... Pat Nester News & Announcements U.S. Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diane P. The Society’s Spring 2017 Members’ Texas Semate Passes Judicial Security Wood Will Keynote Hemphill Dinner Meeting and Pat Nester’s Award Bill Named in Honor of District Judge The Honorable Diane By David A. Furlow Who Survived Assassination Attempt P. Wood will be the Society President Macey By Dylan O. Drummond principal speaker at the Stokes convened an The “Kocurek Act” Society’s Twenty-Second exceptionally well- recommends improve- Annual John Hemphill attended Members’ ments to judicial Dinner on September 8 Meeting which involved New Executive security from the at Austin’s Four Seasons Chief Judge Wood three memorable Director Sharon Texas Judicial Council Hotel. Read more... moments. Read more... Sandle and authored by Councilmember and Judge Kocurek Senator Judith Zaffirini. and son Will The Society’s TSHA Annual Meeting J.P. Bryan, Jr.’s West Began at the Read more... Program Was a Standing-Room-Only Society’s Spring 2017 Board Meeting Success By David A. Furlow “The West begins in By David A. Furlow Texas,” the Society’s Membership & More The Society presented a special guest speaker, superb program at the J.P. Bryan, Jr. proudly Calendar of Events Texas State Historical proclaimed to more Association’s 2017 Officers, Trustees & Court Liaison than sixty attendees. Annual Meeting on J.P. Bryan, Jr. Read more... 2016-17 New Member List March 2, 2017. Read more... Macey Stokes Join the Society began the day Texas Women Judges’ Day TSHA Approves Society’s Celebrated at Texas Capitol Visit the Society on Twitter and Facebook! TSHA 2018 Panel Proposal By Dylan O. Drummond @SCOTXHistSocy First celebrated during For the March 2, 2018 FB: Texas Supreme Court Historical Society the 84th Legislative meeting in San Marcos, Session in 2015, this © 2017 Texas Supreme Court Historical Society the Society’s session’s year’s event again title is Laying Down Texas recognized women Law: From Austin’s Colony serving in the Texas through the Lone Star Women judges Old Main judiciary. Read more... Republic. Read more... at the Capitol in San Marcos Message from the Macey Reasoner President Stokes ince my last message, there have been a number of developments that I Swould like to share with you: Chief Justice Jack Pope, 1913–2017 February saw the passing at 103 of the Society’s Chair Emeritus Jack Pope, Retired Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Chief Justice Pope was an exemplar of a Texas jurist and a great man. One of the first books the Society published was the Chief’s book,Common Law Judge: Selected Writings of Chief Justice Jack Pope of Texas (edited by Marilyn P. Duncan), a fascinating collection of his essays on the art and science of judicial decision-making, as well as excerpts from ten of his landmark opinions. His intelligence, humor, and common sense will be sorely missed at Society Board meetings. A beautiful tribute to Chief Justice Pope’s life and work can be found on the Texas Supreme Court’s home page. Upcoming Book Publications The second book in the Taming Texas series, Law and the Texas Frontier, will be released later this spring. The Society is grateful to the Fellows for continuing to support this important series of books designed to teach seventh-graders about the important role that the judiciary has played in our state history. We are always in need of volunteers for the presentations that we make to teach the book to seventh-grade history classes around the state, so please let me know if you would like to participate in one of these one-hour presentations in your city or town. Trustee Bill Chriss is revising his Six Constitutions Over Texas book manuscript to resubmit to the University of Texas Press at the end of the summer. The book will be part of the Society- sponsored Texas Legal Studies Series. Trustee and Former Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips continues to work on his judicial elections book that, when completed, will be the first comprehensive study of judicial elections over the course of Texas history. Society-Sponsored Spring and Fall Events The Society held its biennial symposium on the History of Texas and Supreme Court Jurisprudence (co-sponsored by the State Bar) on Thursday, April 27, in the Texas Law Center in Austin. Thank you to our course directors, Journal General Editor Lynne Liberato and Trustee 1 Richard Orsinger, and all the Society trustees and members who volunteered to speak at or help plan the symposium. The Twenty-Second Annual John Hemphill Dinner will be held Friday, September 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. Our keynote speaker will be Diane Wood, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and an engaging speaker. Please sign up for a table sponsorship soon, as tables for the dinner tend to sell out quickly. I am grateful to Trustee Tom Leatherbury for serving as our dinner chair this year. The Society is a sponsor of the Texas General Land Office’s Eighth Annual Save Texas History Symposium, to be held on September 15 and 16 on UT Austin’s J. J. Pickle Research Campus in far north Austin. This year’s symposium is entitled “Texas and the Great War,” to commemorate the centennial of the United States’ entry into World War I on April 6, 1917. More information and registration can be found at http://www.glo.texas.gov/save-texas-history/ symposium/index.html. Pat Nester’s Retirement and Sharon Sandle’s Welcome Finally, our beloved Executive Director Pat Nester is retiring next month, despite our attempts to make him work for the Society forever.