Texas media and appellate lawyer; retired @VECareers; Director, First Amendment Clinic, @SMULawClinics @SMULawSchool; Everton; opinions are my own
Joined September 2011
- Tweets 4,155
- Following 2,874
- Followers 1,484
- Likes 9,612
271 Photos and videos
Tom Leatherbury retweeted
SMU Dedman School of Law’s Small Business and Trademark Clinic is honored to receive the 2026 Fritz Lanham Trademark Award from the State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Section.
The award will be presented at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in Houston next month.
Read more about the Fritz Lanham Trademark Award: bit.ly/4dC2e3t
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Prof. @Tsleather and Prof. Peter Stefensen were featured in @Law360's article, “Kash Patel's Suit Over Pundit's 'Nightclubs' Quip Gets Axed.”
Read More: law360.com/articles/2468662/…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Prof. @Tsleather was quoted in the @startelegram's article, “Who could be named Fort Worth ISD superintendent? TEA keeps details at a minimum.”
Read More: star-telegram.com/news/local…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Prof. @Tsleather and Prof. Peter Steffensen were quoted in @TheBushCenter's article, “Citizens lose without access to reliable information.”
Read More: bushcenter.org/publications/…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Prof. @Tsleather was quoted in @HoustonPubMedia’s article, “Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office was told to release trade mission documents. Most are redacted.”
Read More: houstonpublicmedia.org/artic…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Mar 27
Today @Ij won a case that has major ramifications for anyone thrown in jail for filming police officers or other law enforcement agents. Last night a federal judge ruled that Fort Bend County, Tx. officers violated independent journalist Justin Pulliam’s rights when they arrested him for recording police activity. ij.org/press-release/federal…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
Feb 4
I was laid off today from the Washington Post’s campaigns team covering the midterms and 2028.
I hear this is an important election year — and I want to cover it aggressively. If you’d like to work together, my DMs are open and you can email me at patrick.svitek@gmail.com.
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Jan 27
Please join us @SMULawSchool
Jan 27
📣 Join us Feb. 10 at 7 PM | Walsh Classroom @smulawschool for a guest talk with Paul Flahive, award-winning journalist, discussing his Pulitzer-funded investigation into systemic failures in the Texas child welfare system.
🔎 When Home Is the Danger → whenhomeisthedanger.org
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
10 Dec 2025
I spent months w: @nico_gjc piecing together what led to Gen. Mark Welsh III’s ouster from A&M. It was a culmination of yrs of reporting for both of us. If you want to understand higher ed politics in Texas, read this until the end(I beg of you): texastribune.org/2025/12/10/… #txlege
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
15 Oct 2025
Successful ideas for $2,500 Larry McNeill Fellowships have included (1) a proposed history of the Texas right to privacy; (2) a documentary reader covering the history of Texas slavery; and (3) a comparative analysis of statutes and cases in developing Texas common law.
15 Oct 2025
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) announces the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society’s $2,500 Larry McNeill Fellowship in Legal History during TSHA’s annual meeting. If you’re an historian, judge, or lawyer, please submit a proposal. 🌟📃🖊️ tshaonline.org/awards/larry-…
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24 Aug 2025
Thank you, Dallas Bar Foundation, for your generous support of the 1A Clinic @SMULawSchool. Your gift’s impact will triple because of a matching gift! Https://www.smu.edu/law/news… @DallasBarAssoc @SMULawClinics
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23 Aug 2025
A favorite day of the semester - the swearing-in ceremony of our new Clinic students. Let’s go get ‘em! @SMULawSchool @SMULawClinics
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22 Aug 2025
Toff is raring to go for the fall semester in the 1A Clinic! @SMULawSchool @SMULawClinics
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29 Jul 2025
Good luck to all of the recent graduates taking the Texas Bar Exam! Toff sends you his best! You got this! #smulawschool #smulawclinics
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14 Nov 2024
Ten Commandments laws - so many 1A violations, so little time - @SMULawClinics
14 Nov 2024
"In my view, they violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because public-school classrooms are a very confined space." - @Tsleather in @HoustonPubMedia
🔗 Read more: houstonpublicmedia.org/artic…
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
3 Nov 2024
Business mullet
2 Nov 2024
The Free Expression Legal Network talks continue with Heather Murray, @MaxSiegelbaum, @Tsleather, and @stevanzetti! Moderated by Heidi Kitrosser.
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
2 Nov 2024
We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who attended our 2024 Access & Accountability Conference this weekend — we had a great time talking all things media, First Amendment, and more. A big thank you to @knightfdn for their generous support of our program. #AAC2024
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
20 Oct 2024
BREAKING: The Fifth Circuit blocks an order from Judge Reed O'Connor that Media Matters turn over donor information to X Corp. in a lawsuit over the group's coverage of X, holding MM is likely to succeed in stopping disclosure.
More to come at Law Dork: lawdork.com/
ALT X Corp., Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Media Matters for America; Eric Hananoki; Angelo Carusone, Defendants—Appellants. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:23-CV-1175 ______________________________ Before Smith, Graves, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: Media Matters, Inc., appeals the district court’s discovery order com- pelling it to disclose its donors’ information and communications. We grant Media Matters’s motion for stay pending appeal.
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Tom Leatherbury retweeted
20 Oct 2024
CA5 this morning stays discovery into Media Matters’ donors demanded by a certain social media website pretty silly lawsuit.
ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pu…
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