TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

NO. 03-18-00725-CV

Omar Weaver Rosales, Appellant v. Commission for Lawyer Discipline, Appellee

FROM THE 201ST DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY NO. D-1-GN-18-002039, THE HONORABLE BRANDON BIRMINGHAM, JUDGE PRESIDING

CONCURRING OPINION

For the reasons I expressed in Rosales I, I cannot join the majority’s reasoning that an enforcement proceeding against a lawyer under the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct is subject to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA). Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Rosales, 577 S.W.3d 305, 319-22 (Tex. App.—Austin 2019, pet. denied) (Kelly, J., concurring). As I said in Rosales I, that opinion will encourage attorneys who face credible accusations of misconduct to file TCPA motions to further delay the disciplinary process while they continue their unrestricted practice of law in Texas. Id. (explaining three levels of review by Chief Disciplinary Counsel and Board of Disciplinary Appeals before suit is filed in district court). While the Legislature amended the TCPA to expressly exempt these types of actions, there are disciplinary actions pending, such as this one, unaffected by this statutory change. See supra at n.1.

I concur in the Court’s judgment, but not the majority’s reasoning.

__________________________________________ Chari L. Kelly, Justice Before Chief Justice Rose, Justices Kelly and Smith Filed: April 22, 2020