Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Dismissal of Clemishire’s Lawsuit Against Gateway Church

The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily halted a lower court’s dismissal of Cindy Clemishire’s defamation lawsuit against Gateway Church, its founder Robert Morris, and other church leaders. The stay, granted on September 18, 2026, was in response to Clemishire’s unopposed emergency motion, allowing the case to be paused while the court considers whether to review and potentially overturn the Fifth Court of Appeals’ dismissal of most of Clemishire’s civil claims. This decision does not resolve the case but temporarily halts the dismissal order, with the court requesting responses to the petition by October 19.

The Fifth Court of Appeals had previously dismissed Clemishire’s lawsuit, citing the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which limits civil court involvement in church governance matters. Appeals Court Justice Mike Lee determined that Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky had misjudged the case when she denied Gateway Church’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds.

In their detailed petition for a writ of mandamus, Clemishire’s attorneys, including Texas Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jeff Leach, argued that applying the ecclesiastical-abstention doctrine to dismiss the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent, potentially providing undue legal protection to religious institutions. At a press conference, Leach emphasized that while religious freedom is a fundamental right, it should not serve as a shield for misconduct. He stated, “Protecting a known sexual predator is not theology. Defaming and damaging the victim, a non-church member, is not church doctrine.”

Robert Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, resigned in June 2024 following accusations by Clemishire of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred over four and a half years starting when she was 12. Morris, then a traveling evangelist, was indicted in March 2025 on multiple counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child by a grand jury in Oklahoma. He pleaded guilty to these charges in October of the following year.

This case underscores the tension between protecting religious liberties and ensuring accountability for alleged misconduct within religious organizations. As the legal proceedings continue, the community watches closely, reflecting on the importance of justice and the protection of victims, resonating with the biblical principle of seeking justice and caring for the vulnerable, as highlighted in Micah 6:8.

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