Paxton’s gay marriage ruling spurs probe

AUSTIN — Already indicted on felony securities fraud charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will face an ethics investigation for advising local officials they could refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in June. Amonth later, acomplaint filed and co-signed by more than 200 attorneys said Paxton’s stance encouraged officials to violate the U.S. Constitution and break their oaths of office.

The complaint was initially dismissed by the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas, but an appeals board appointed by the state Supreme Court reinstated it Feb. 2, saying the complaint alleges a “possible violation” of professional conduct rules.

“The complaint has always lacked merit, and we are confident the legal process for resolving these complaints will bear that out,” Paxton spokeswoman Cynthia Meyer said.

A State Bar official declined comment, butHous- ton attorney Eddie Rodriguez, whose firm helped initiate the complaint, released a copy of the order from the appeals board reinstating the case.

“Texas ethics rules prohibit any lawyer, including the Attorney General, from counseling a client to engage in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent,” Rodriguez said.

Potential penalties could range from a reprimand to disbarment, Rodriguez said.

The appeals board’s decision to reinstate the case does not mean Pax- ton violated professional ethics but requires him to respond to the complaint as part of the investigation.

The day before the high court’s ruling, Paxton released a statement that urged county clerks and judges to hold off on same-sex marriages. Two days after the ruling, he issued an opinion that clerks did not have to issue licenses and justices of the peace could refuse to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies on religious grounds. The complaint against Paxton alleges he encouraged officials to break the law.