State Ethics Lawyer Fired for Anti-Islam Tweets Loses Lawsuit

A former state disciplinary attorney’s lawsuit alleging that the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility unlawfully fired him for his tweets will be dismissed because of immunity, a federal court in Nashville said.

The board regulates licensed Tennessee attorneys. Disciplinary counsel Jerry Morgan handled appeals to the state supreme court over attorney malfeasance.

Brian Manookian, appealing his law license suspension, moved to disqualify Morgan, claiming he was an anti-Muslim bigot. Manookian cited multiple tweets Morgan had posted between 2015 and 2020 that disparaged, among others, Muslims and Democrats.

Manookian claimed such bias could prejudice him, because his wife was Muslim and his children were being raised in a Muslim household.

Chief disciplinary counsel Sandra Garrett terminated Morgan, citing the tweets among other reasons. Morgan sued for First Amendment employment retaliation against the board and Garrett.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on Thursday granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss.

The court lacked jurisdiction over the board because it’s “abundantly clear that the Board is an arm of the state entitled to sovereign immunity,” it said. Morgan’s claim against Garrett in her individual capacity is subject to dismissal under the doctrine of absolute quasi-judicial immunity, which protects certain individuals acting as an arm of the judicial branch, the court said.

“Courts have readily extended quasi-judicial immunity to members of disciplinary or professional licensing boards, including those in Garrett’s exact role, where they function in an adjudicative, investigatory, prosecutorial, or judicial manner,” Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. said.

Blackburn Firm PLLC represents Morgan. The state attorney general’s office and Pepper Law PLC represent the defendants.

The case is Morgan v. Bd. of Prof’l Resp. of Sup. Ct. of Tenn., M.D. Tenn., No. 3:21-cv-00274, 3/3/22.