Fearing that a legislative committee may force University of Texas System lawyers to testify and give up documents—and jail the attorneys if they refuse—the U.T. System is asking for a legal opinion about the committee’s authority.
The U.T. system wants an “expedited” opinion from the Texas Office of the Attorney General about whether the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, which is investigating whether to impeach U.T. System Regent Wallace Hall, has the authority to compel attorney-client privileged testimony and to subpoena attorney-work-product documents. The U.T. System asked: If an attorney declined, could the committee hold him in contempt?
