***
On the day of the hearing Matt was very anxious about how it would turn out. He arrived early and parked in his usual lot west of the Earl Cabell Federal Building. Leon Cash, the attendant, greeted him as he always did when Matt attended court. Leon was a great guy, always upbeat, and invariably would lift Matt’s spirits if he were down or nervous about a court appearance. Leon was a tall black man—an ex-SMU tackle who missed going pro due to a knee injury his senior year. Today Matt really needed a little friendly banter to calm his nerves. He drove up and rolled down his window to a smiling Leon.
“Hey, Matt. What’s happening bros?”
“Hi, Leon. Just the usual shit.”
“Yeah, I heard ‘bout it on TV. You can’t let them shut you down now. That ad you’ve been runnin’ just tells it like it is.”
“Thank you, Leon. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“You’re doin’ a fine thing here, Matt. It’s ‘bout time someone stood up to them bankers.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“So, give ‘em hell, okay?”
“You got it, bros,” Matt said smiling broadly. “Let’s kick some butt.”
“Hey, now you’re talkin’. You’re my man.”
Matt parked in his usual spot and walked over to the courthouse. When he arrived, the courtroom was filled with spectators and the press. Bradley Davis was standing at one of the counsel tables pulling books and files from his briefcase. Peter Robertson was seated at the opposite counsel table conferring with an associate. As Matt entered the courtroom, several reporters swarmed around him attempting to get a statement. He declined and went straight to Bradley and sat down beside him.
"You ready?" Bradley said.
"I guess so."
"Did you ever expect your little ads to cause such a ruckus?"
"No, this is ridiculous."
The door opened and the court reporter entered the room and sat down. Then the bailiff stood up and said, "All rise," as the judge entered the courtroom and took the bench. He rummaged around with the files on his desk, then looked up and said, "Are we ready to proceed?"
Robertson and Davis stood up. Robertson replied, "The plaintiff is ready, Your Honor."
"The defendant is ready, Your Honor."
"You may proceed, Mr. Robertson," the judge said.
"Thank you, Your Honor. The matter before the Court is the application brought by the State Bar of Texas for a temporary injunction against Matt Coleman and the Debt Relief Centers, Inc. from continuing to use misleading and deceptive advertising in violation of the State Bar rules governing legal advertising. As the court is aware, Mr. Coleman and his organization have been airing spots on local television claiming that many creditors are engaged in a conspiracy to impoverish them by giving out too much credit and charging obscene interest rates. Although at first blush this seems like a noble cause, in reality it’s nothing but an advertising campaign to get bankruptcy business for Mr. Coleman and his bankruptcy mill.
"We will show the court through the testimony of the chairman of the State Bar Advertising Committee that these TV spots violate several sections of the State Bar's advertising regulations and accordingly should be stopped. Thank you, Your Honor."
"All right, Mr. Bradley."
"Your Honor, may it please the court. What we have here is not advertising but merely one man exercising his right of free speech. If the court will view the TV spots, it will see that they are nothing more than Mr. Coleman's opinions and theories about why a large segment of our population is insolvent. At no time does he solicit bankruptcy business for the firm. These are just public interest broadcasts and any business generated by them is simply incidental.
"Your Honor, I would liken what Mr. Coleman is doing to running for political office. Lawyers do that every year and as part of the process they buy TV time and express their position on a variety of public issues over the airways. Now it's no secret that sometimes these lawyers receive legal business from these TV ads due to this added exposure to the public. If the State Bar has jurisdiction over Mr. Coleman's public interest spots, then it would follow that they would have jurisdiction over lawyers campaigning for political office as well. Surely that couldn't be the case, Your Honor. I would reaffirm Mr. Coleman's right of free speech and deny the plaintiff's application for a temporary injunction. The State Bar of Texas simply lacks jurisdiction over what Mr. Coleman is doing. Thank you."
"All right, Mr. Robertson. Call your first witness," the judge said.
"Thank you, Your Honor. The Plaintiff calls Mr. Howard Ross."
A tall dark-headed man stood up in the front row of the gallery and began walking to the front of the courtroom. Mr. Robertson looked at him and pointed to the witness stand. The man nodded and walked up next to the court reporter and sat down in the wooden witness chair. The bailiff swore him in.
"State your name please?"
"Howard Ross."
"Mr. Ross, how are you employed?"
"I'm an attorney with Goggan, Walls & Ross here in Dallas."
"What is your relationship to the State Bar of Texas?"
"I'm the chairman of the Advertising Enforcement Committee."
"I see. . . . What is the purpose of the Advertising Enforcement Committee?"
"To monitor lawyer advertising around the state to be sure the members of the bar comply with the advertising guidelines that have been established."
"In the performance of these duties did you have an occasion to monitor the advertising of Matthew Coleman?"
"Yes, we did."
"How did that come about?"
"We got several complaints that his TV advertising was misleading, deceptive, and highly inflammatory."
"Really? What did you do as the result of those complaints?"
"We obtained tapes of the advertisements and began to study them."
"Did your committee reach any conclusions after viewing the tapes?"
"Yes, first it was the consensus of the committee that the TV spots were advertising despite Mr. Coleman's contention that they were not. Secondly, it was determined that the advertising was in clear violation of several of the State Bar advertising rules."
"In your opinion how do the TV spots violate the advertising guidelines?"
"First of all they disparage the financial institutions of this country unfairly in order to engender hatred and contempt for these institutions. The purpose of fostering consumer hatred and contempt is to help them to overcome their natural shame and embarrassment in filing bankruptcy. Many people think a lot about bankruptcy when times get tough but most don't do it because it is an admission of failure and they fear public ridicule."
"So the TV spots are simply an attempt to shift the blame for financial failure to financial institutions and away from the individuals themselves?"
"Objection. Counsel is leading the witness," Bradley said.
"Sustained."
"I'll rephrase. In your opinion, how are these TV spots misleading?"
"They advocate bankruptcy not as a legitimate right of every citizen in financial distress, but as a way to get revenge against financial institutions for allegedly making consumers spend money and hooking them into a lifetime of debt repayment."
"Thank you. Pass the witness."
Robertson sat down and whispered something to his assistant. Bradley stood up and began to question the witness.
"Mr. Ross. Who was it exactly who complained about Mr. Coleman's TV spots?"
"Several persons complained."
"Who were they?"
"Several law firms."
"Would it be fair to say they were some of Mr. Coleman's competitors?"
"Yes, they felt if they had to follow the rules so should Mr. Coleman."
"Who else complained?"
"The American Creditors' Alliance."
"Is that an organization made up of financial institutions around the country?"
"I believe so."
> "So they were obviously upset with the conspiracy theory espoused in the TV spots."
"Yes."
"And the increased bankruptcy filings were hurting them of course?"
"Yes."
"So they would stop at nothing to put an end to these highly effective TV spots, wouldn't they?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Never mind. . . . Let me ask you this. Did you receive any complaints from consumers?"
"Consumers?"
"Right."
"Well . . . no, not specifically."
"So the people these advertising regulations were designed to protect didn't have a problem with the TV spots?"
"No, they just typically don't complain."
"So your committee takes it upon itself to play God and determine what's good and bad for the consumer?"
"Objection. Argumentative."
"Sustained."
"No further questions."
The State Bar called several other witnesses and when they all had finished testifying the judge looked at Bradley and said, "You may call your first witness, Mr. Davis."
"Thank you, sir. I'd like to call Matthew Coleman."
Matt looked at Lynn, she smiled as he got up and approached the witness stand. Once seated the bailiff swore him in as the gallery watched with great anticipation. After some preliminary background questions Bradley asked, "Mr. Coleman, what exactly did you intend when you started airing these TV spots?"
"My wife had been a student of Professor Swensen at SMU. She was very interested in his economic conspiracy theory. She told me about it and it made a lot of sense. I wanted to learn more, so I met with Professor Swensen and he was kind enough to share his knowledge and research into the topic."
"Okay, but the TV spots. Why did you launch them?"
"Well, the professor had been preaching his theories for years but nobody listened. It was a real shame. Every day in my bankruptcy practice I saw the victims of this conspiracy. Families tore apart by economic calamity. People robbed of not only their physical possessions but their dignity and self-respect. I wanted to do something to right this terrible wrong."
"I see, so the TV spots were purely a public service?"
"Exactly. They were a way to wake up the American people to what was happening to them."
"Now it's no secret your bankruptcy practice prospered as a result of these advertisements, right?"
"Yes, people were grateful that we woke them up and showed them what was happening to them."
"In your advertising do you ask the audience to file bankruptcy?"
"No, we simply explain to them that there is no shame in bankruptcy, especially in light of the fact they have been manipulated all these years by their creditors. We never tell them to file bankruptcy, nor do we ask them to bring their business to us."
"So what do you think about the State Bar's position that your TV spots are nothing but cold, calculated advertisements?"
"It's simply not true. My wife and I only wanted to express our opinion and promote the theories of Professor Swensen as a public service. Nothing more."
"Thank you. Pass the witness."
Bradley sat down and Robertson stood up. The judge nodded for Robertson to begin his cross examination.
"Mr. Coleman. Do you expect this court to believe that your TV ads were never intended to increase your bankruptcy business?"
"Yes, I do."
"Have you ever been active in politics?"
"No."
"Do you belong to a political party?"
"No, I'm an independent."
"How much do these advertisements cost you?"
"The TV spots cost about three thousand a week."
"So you suddenly decided to spend $3,000 per week, or $156,000 a year as a public service with no expectation of recovering that money?"
"It was the most effective way we could think of getting our message to the people."
"A message that was sure to increase your business."
"Sure, we realized our business might profit by it, but that doesn't change the fact that we were voicing our opinion as we have a right to do as citizens of this great nation."
"So you admit this whole thing was profit motivated."
"No, it was motivated by an outrage at what the financial institutions of this nation have done to the American people."
"You state that there has been a conspiracy to enslave the American people. What evidence do you have of that conspiracy?"
"Look around you, Mr. Robertson. Do you watch television? Do you get a dozen credit card applications in the mail every month? Have you looked at the growth of the consumer debt in this nation? Have you checked the divorce rate lately?"
"That's not proof of anything, Mr. Coleman."
"You’re right, it’s not, and I’m not saying I have proof, but I have an opinion as to what is causing the destruction of the family and a decline of morality in America and I have a right to espouse that opinion.”
“Not when it—”
“Objection. Argumentative,” Bradley said. “Mr. Robertson is testifying.”
The judge said, “Sustained. Do you have any more questions of this witness?”
Robertson gave the judge a frustrated look and then shook his head and said, “No, Your Honor.”
The judge sat up in his chair, looked at his watch and said, "We'll break for lunch and take your next witness then. Be back here at 1:30 p.m."