The Florida Bar v. Christopher W. Crowley
The Florida Supreme Court held that Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 4-8.2(a) is unconstitutional as applied to Crowley's political campaign speech about a candidate for the partisan office of state attorney. Because the rule is a content-based restriction on core political speech subject to strict scrutiny, and the Bar identified no compelling interest sufficient to justify regulating speech in a partisan legal-office race, the Court rejected the referee's guilt recommendations and declined to discipline him.
Key facts
- Christopher Crowley ran for State Attorney in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in 2017 against then-Chief Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox, making numerous campaign statements attacking Fox's qualifications and integrity, including accusations that she had a low conviction rate, improperly interfered with a grand jury, and orchestrated his campaign-related arrest.
- The Florida Bar charged Crowley with violating Rule 4-8.2(a) (impugning a candidate for legal office with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard), and a referee recommended a sixty-day suspension for violating rules 4-8.2(a) and 3-4.3.
- +1 more key fact with a free trial
Holdings
- Rule 4-8.2(a) is a content-based restriction on speech that must survive strict scrutiny; the First Amendment affords no lesser protection because the speaker is an attorney, and speech…
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Why it matters
This is a landmark attorney-discipline and First Amendment decision holding a Rule Regulating The Florida Bar unconstitutional as applied to political campaign speech. It draws a sharp constitutional line between speech… — full analysis with a trial
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