Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney who has made a name for himself nationally by representing the families of police brutality victims, is taking heat ahead of his race to be Texas鈥� top lawyer because he鈥檚 not licensed to practice in the state.
He has represented the families of , a 26-year-old man who was shot and killed in his apartment by a Dallas police officer; , a 46-year-old man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes; and , a 25-year-old man who was chased through a Georgia neighborhood by three white men and then shot to death.
In his bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, Merritt has lined up an impressive list of endorsements including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, U.S. Rep. of Houston, Dallas state Sen. and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
But as Merritt鈥檚 star has risen, so have questions about his legal record in Texas.
The state constitution does not require the attorney general to be licensed to practice law. But that question isn鈥檛 the only shadow hanging over his practice. Merritt has also experienced notable blunders, like when he represented a woman in 2018 who falsely accused a Department of Public Safety trooper of sexually assaulting her. Merritt brought national attention to the incident, but police camera footage disproved it just days later, forcing him to apologize for the misstep.
During a Democratic primary debate hosted by the AFL-CIO labor union in January, candidate Joe Jaworski brought up Merritt鈥檚 lack of a Texas license and said his ability to practice law in the state was a 鈥渂ig difference鈥� between the two candidates.
鈥淚 have a Texas law license and I鈥檝e had it for 31 years,鈥� said Jaworski, the former Galveston mayor, during the debate. 鈥淟ee, I have great respect for his civil rights practice 鈥� I think he is truly an awesome agent of social change 鈥� [but] that is a big difference between us. He needs to be able to show that he can go into Texas state court, like an attorney general should.鈥�
Merritt, in an interview with The Texas Tribune, said he鈥檚 in the process of getting licensed. 鈥淚 am working on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing that because it helps minimize confusion, but I don鈥檛 see it as a necessity of the office.鈥�
Jaworski declined to comment for this story, as did Rochelle Garza, one of the other candidates in the race. The primary is March 1.
Mike Fields, another candidate in the race, said it could create a 鈥渨eird situation鈥� if the employees under the attorney general had met a requirement that the elected official had not, but he gave Merritt the benefit of the doubt.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 impede his ability to do the job, but I understand the concern,鈥� Fields said. 鈥淏ased on what I鈥檝e heard from him and looking at his history, certainly he鈥檚 up to the task, and I think he鈥檚 rectifying that situation. But that鈥檚 gonna be between him and the state bar.鈥�
The other major candidates in the race are all licensed to practice in Texas.
In the GOP primary, Land Commissioner faced about his law license after he classified it as inactive in 2010 when he deployed to Afghanistan. His license is now active. Bush is running against the incumbent, ; former state Supreme Court Justice ; and U.S. Rep. , R-Tyler.
The Texas attorney general is responsible for representing the state in all legal matters and giving legal advice to the governor and other executive officers when it is requested.
Randall Erben, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said Merritt鈥檚 lack of a license would not stop him from being able to do the job because the attorney general generally leaves court cases to the hundreds of lawyers in his office who specialize in different areas of the law.
鈥淸The attorney general鈥檚] got a whole civil litigation unit, federal appeals unit, solicitor general 鈥� those are the people who are actually going into the courthouse on behalf of the state, and presumably they鈥檙e licensed,鈥� Erben said.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e asking whether there鈥檚 any constitutional or statutory impediment, there鈥檚 not,鈥� Erben added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to the Democratic primary voters as to whether it impacts their views of Mr. Merritt.鈥�
Merritt is licensed in Pennsylvania, where he went to law school at Temple University in Philadelphia and where he is a partner in a law firm. His law firm in Texas is a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania firm, he said. He was previously licensed in New Jersey, but that license has lapsed. Merritt has been admitted to practice in federal courts, where all of his civil rights practice is handled, he said.
He moved to Texas in 2015 with his wife at the time. The two divorced that summer, but Merritt continued to keep a residence in North Texas and started taking on clients in the state. He is originally from Los Angeles.
Merritt said he鈥檚 running for attorney general on a platform of reforming criminal justice, protecting the right to vote and defending a person鈥檚 right to an abortion.
At the AFL-CIO debate, Merritt said he has suspended his civil rights practice during the campaign but plans to pursue admission into the Texas bar without having to take the bar exam.
Merritt could do so by showing the Texas Board of Law Examiners that he has practiced law in a U.S. state or territory or in Washington, D.C., and be able to document that he has been 鈥渁ctively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law as their principal business or occupation for at least five of the last seven years.鈥�
Merritt told The Dallas Morning News in 2018, and told The Texas Tribune again this week, that he was applying for admission to the Texas bar by virtue of already being admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.
However, the Texas Board of Law Examiners said the board has not received such an application.
Merritt acknowledged he was waiting for 鈥渟ome requirements that are a little more tedious to fulfill鈥� before he can complete the application. Those include obtaining his law school transcripts and supplying his fingerprints and a certification of good standing from the Pennsylvania bar.
Previously, Merritt has said that he opted against getting licensed in the state because of the history of state bars in the South targeting civil rights attorneys. State bars would deny them the opportunity to appear in federal court or arrest them under penalties criminalizing the unauthorized practice of law.
Because of that, Merritt said he鈥檇 鈥渄ecided not to join the Texas bar so that I can continue to fight for Texans all throughout the state.鈥�
Merritt鈥檚 lack of a license drew the attention of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee in 2018 after someone made a complaint that he was practicing in the state without a license. The committee is a volunteer investigative arm of the Texas Supreme Court.
In a filing in federal court, Merritt鈥檚 attorney said the investigation was spurred by Merritt鈥檚 representation of a when she called to report an assault on her son.
In February 2018, Merritt and the committee entered into a final consent judgment that barred him from practicing or representing himself as an attorney in matters related to state law. Six months later, the committee sued Merritt for violating that agreement, alleging that he continued to represent clients on issues related to state courts. A judge in Collin County later ruled .
Merritt said in each instance he acted as an advocate for clients while he prepared to file federal lawsuits on their behalf. He also said the committee鈥檚 move was a politically motivated attempt to stop his civil rights work.
The investigation was not the only challenge his legal career faced that year.
In May 2018, Merritt represented Sherita Dixon-Cole of Grapevine, who claimed that a DPS trooper had pulled her over and sexually assaulted her.
In a statement at the time, Merritt claimed that the officer had offered to let her go in exchange for sexual favors and when she declined, the officer sexually assaulted her.
With the help of activist Shaun King, a friend of Merritt鈥檚 from Morehouse College who has a million followers on Twitter, the story gained national attention.
But three days later, the DPS released police camera video that .
鈥淭he Department is appalled that anyone would make such a despicable, slanderous and false accusation against a peace officer who willingly risks his life every day to protect and serve the public,鈥� the department said in a statement at the time.
Merritt issued an apology. A lawsuit was never filed.
鈥淚t is deeply troubling when innocent parties are falsely accused, and I am truly sorry for any trouble these claims may have caused Officer Hubbard and his family,鈥� Merritt said. 鈥淚 take full responsibility for amplifying these claims to the point of national concern.鈥�
Merritt told the Tribune civil rights lawyers 鈥渙ften have to fight in the dark,鈥� and getting attention for their cases, as well as the quick release of evidence, requires 鈥渕aking noise.鈥� He said he dropped the case within 24 hours of the video鈥檚 release.
鈥淚 was regretful that anyone had been maligned in the process, but I was doing my job, which was to get access to evidence and investigate claims,鈥� he said.
