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Texas Constitution:Article I, Section 8 (view source)
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Freedom of Speech | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Freedom of Speech"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876: | ||
'''Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press. In prosecutions for the publication of papers, investigating the conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the Court, as in other cases.''' | '''Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press. In prosecutions for the publication of papers, investigating the conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the Court, as in other cases.''' | ||
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As reflected by the decisions referenced below, the shift from Democratic to Republican control of the Texas Supreme Court in the 1990s resulted in a | As reflected by the decisions referenced below, the shift from Democratic to Republican control of the Texas Supreme Court in the 1990s resulted in a different approach to cases brought under this section. | ||
|recent= | |recent= | ||
* ''Lilith Fund for Reprod. Equity v. Dickson'', 662 S.W.3d 355, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6590065115020791341# | * ''Lilith Fund for Reprod. Equity v. Dickson'', 662 S.W.3d 355, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6590065115020791341#p357 357-58] (Tex. 2023) (footnote omitted) ("We hold that the challenged statements are protected opinion about abortion law made in pursuit of changing that law, placing them at the heart of protected speech under the United States and Texas Constitutions. Such opinions are constitutionally protected even when the speaker applies them to specific advocacy groups . . . . In our state and nation, an advocate is free 'to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject,' perhaps most especially on controversial subjects like legalized abortion.") | ||
* ''Kinney v. Barnes'', 443 S.W.3d 87, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2106112559284451539#p90 90] (Tex. 2014) (footnotes omitted) ("Enshrined in Texas law since 1836, this fundamental right recognizes the 'transcendent importance of such freedom to the search for truth, the maintenance of democratic institutions, and the happiness of individual men.' Tex. Const. art. I, § 8 interp. commentary (West 2007). Commensurate with the respect Texas affords this right is its skepticism toward restraining speech. While abuse of the right to speak subjects a speaker to proper penalties, we have long held that 'pre-speech sanctions' are presumptively unconstitutional.") | * ''Kinney v. Barnes'', 443 S.W.3d 87, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2106112559284451539#p90 90] (Tex. 2014) (footnotes omitted) ("Enshrined in Texas law since 1836, this fundamental right recognizes the 'transcendent importance of such freedom to the search for truth, the maintenance of democratic institutions, and the happiness of individual men.' Tex. Const. art. I, § 8 interp. commentary (West 2007). Commensurate with the respect Texas affords this right is its skepticism toward restraining speech. While abuse of the right to speak subjects a speaker to proper penalties, we have long held that 'pre-speech sanctions' are presumptively unconstitutional.") | ||
* ''AEP Tex. Com. & Indus. Retail, Ltd. P'ship v. Public Util. Comm'n of Tex.'', 436 S.W.3d 890, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16202567262067126205#p923 923] (Tex.App.–Austin 2014, no pet.) (footnote omitted) ("In the decades since it decided ''Davenport'', the Texas Supreme Court has, to say the least, greatly refined its notion that the Texas free-speech provision is 'broader' or more protective of speech than its federal counterpart. . . . Consequently, whether 'Article I, Section 8 [is] more protective of speech . . . than the First Amendment' in a particular application or context 'must be because of the text, history, or purpose of the provision, not just simply ''because''.'") | |||
* ''Operation Rescue-Nat'l v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas'', 975 S.W.2d 546, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6111617783851769215#p559 559] (Tex. 1998) (footnote omitted) ("To define the protections of Article I, Section 8 simply as one notch above First Amendment protections is to deny state constitutional guarantees any principled moorings whatever. We reject this approach. The text, history, and purposes of Article I, Section 8 have been thoroughly examined by this Court. We know of nothing to suggest that injunctions restricting speech should be judged by a different standard under the state constitution than the First Amendment.") | * ''Operation Rescue-Nat'l v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas'', 975 S.W.2d 546, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6111617783851769215#p559 559] (Tex. 1998) (footnote omitted) ("To define the protections of Article I, Section 8 simply as one notch above First Amendment protections is to deny state constitutional guarantees any principled moorings whatever. We reject this approach. The text, history, and purposes of Article I, Section 8 have been thoroughly examined by this Court. We know of nothing to suggest that injunctions restricting speech should be judged by a different standard under the state constitution than the First Amendment.") | ||
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* ''A. H. Belo & Co. v. Wren'', 63 Tex. 686, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/063_Tex_686.pdf#page=37 722] (1884) ("The publisher of defamatory matter is exempted from responsibility in such cases, because the demands of public policy for the publication outweigh all considerations requiring the protection of private reputation in the particular case. The public are not regarded as having such an interest in proceedings embodying defamatory matter as will outweigh the necessity of protecting the character of individuals, unless they are proceedings of a legislative or judicial character. Cooley's Const. Law, 568; Townshend on Libel, 411; Sanford ''v''. Bennett, 24 N.Y. 20.") | * ''A. H. Belo & Co. v. Wren'', 63 Tex. 686, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/063_Tex_686.pdf#page=37 722] (1884) ("The publisher of defamatory matter is exempted from responsibility in such cases, because the demands of public policy for the publication outweigh all considerations requiring the protection of private reputation in the particular case. The public are not regarded as having such an interest in proceedings embodying defamatory matter as will outweigh the necessity of protecting the character of individuals, unless they are proceedings of a legislative or judicial character. Cooley's Const. Law, 568; Townshend on Libel, 411; Sanford ''v''. Bennett, 24 N.Y. 20.") | ||
|seo_title=Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution ("Freedom of Speech | |seo_title=Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution ("Freedom of Speech") | ||
|seo_keywords=Article 1 Section 8, free speech, | |seo_keywords=Article 1 Section 8, free speech, free press | ||
|seo_description=Every person shall be at liberty to speak | |seo_description=Every person shall be at liberty to speak or publish their opinions, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege. | ||
|seo_image_alt=Texas Bill of Rights | |seo_image_alt=Texas Bill of Rights | ||
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[[Category:Texas Bill of Rights]] | [[Category:Texas Bill of Rights]] | ||
[[Category:Media Law]] | |||
[[Category:TxCon ArtI Sec]] | [[Category:TxCon ArtI Sec]] | ||