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Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006) 547 U.S 410

Policeman fired for opinions has lawsuit reinstated in federal appeals court

donal brown April 21, 2011

A federal appeals court said a Pennsylvania police officer could pursue his claim that his town council had fired him in retaliation for critical online comments. After a fellow police officer was killed by a man with superior fire power, the policeman went online to attack the opinions of council members against supplying the police with better weapons. The appeals court ruled that the case could not be dismissed under the Supreme Court’s decision Garcetti

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Free speech: Whistleblowers silenced by Supreme Court ruling

donal brown April 19, 2011

A state police officer whose job it was to investigate corruption of the Connecticut State Police was removed from his job, isolated from other officers and made the subject of an investigation of conduct that occurred several years earlier. The officer had alleged that  the state police routinely covered up misconduct by police officers, including drunk driving, domestic violence, and misuse of state funds. When the officer sued, a federal judge cited Garcetti v. Caballos

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Free speech: Police officer gets desk duty over indiscreet posting on Facebook

donal brown April 8, 2011

Free speech rights of police officers in the social media are clashing with their law enforcement responsibilities as illustrated by a recent case in Albuquerque where a police officer listed his occupation on Facebook as “human waste disposal.” A TV station discovered the gaffe after the officer was involved in a fatal off-duty shooting in February. In response to this and other instances across the country, police departments are developing social media policies. The courts have supported

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New Jersey first grade teacher suspended for Facebook reference to students as ‘future criminals’

donal brown April 5, 2011

A first grade teacher from Paterson, New Jersey was relieved of her teaching duties after she posted on Facebook that she felt like a warden supervising future criminals. The teacher was suspended after parents complained. The teacher’s lawyer said the comments on Facebook were on her own time and to friends, “My feeling is that if you’re concerned about children, you’re concerned about what goes on in the classroom, not about policing your employee’s private

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Whistleblowing an endangered species: Workplace free speech takes another hit

donal brown February 14, 2011

The 2nd Circuit federal appeals court ruled against a custodian who claimed he was fired for warning his superiors that a a mass that had fallen onto the gym floor might be asbestos and constitute a public safety concern. The court said the speech fell under his duties as custodian and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Garcetti v. Ceballos and therefore not protected under the First Amendment. From the First Amendment Center, February 14, 2011,

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