public-employee-speech

10 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-672 Kate Adams v. Sacramento County, California, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-12-10 Pending Amici (4) circuit-split constitutional-rights first-amendment free-speech matter-of-public-concern public-employee-speech This case presents a clear, recognized, and entrenched conflict over the First Amendment rights of public employees: whether speech made as a private …
24-613 Frederick Lewis Washington v. Sunflower County, Mississippi Fifth Circuit 2024-12-04 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) constitutional-interpretation first-amendment judicial-review public-employee-speech summary-reversal supreme-court-precedent 1. Should this Court summarily reverse when a court of appeals defies clear, unmistakable decisions of this Court? 2. Should a judge or a jury deci…
24-355 Kari MacRae v. Matthew Mattos, et al. First Circuit 2024-09-30 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (16) constitutional-rights first-amendment free-speech-rights pickering-test pre-employment-speech public-employee-speech Does the Pickering balancing test apply to unrelated, preemployment speech on matters of public concern?
22-130 Lonnie Tofsrud v. City of Spokane, Washington, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-08-10 Denied Response Waived chain-of-command civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech officer-misconduct pickering-garcetti-framework public-employee public-employee-speech supervisor-retaliation whistleblower whistleblower-protection Following a supervisor's refusal to act on a credible report of officer misconduct, does a city police detective's complaint to a county attorney, giv…
21-792 Michael Billioni v. Bruce Bryant, Sheriff, York County, South Carolina, et al. Fourth Circuit 2021-11-30 Denied chain-of-command civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech internal-investigation law-enforcement-misconduct pickering-balancing-test public-employee-speech whistleblower whistleblower-protection 1) Whether a public employee's speech about serious law enforcement misconduct involving an in-custody death has limited weight in the Pickering First…
20-384 Penny Nichols Corn, et al. v. Mississippi Department of Public Safety, et al. Fifth Circuit 2020-09-24 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech garcetti-precedent garcetti-v-ceballos lane-v-franks law-enforcement-misconduct misprision-of-felony public-employee-speech Whether, after inconsistencies generated by Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006) and Lane v. Franks, 573 U.S. 228 (2014), citizen public employee…
20-351 Norris Paul Carey, Jr. v. Joanne Throwe, et al. Fourth Circuit 2020-09-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) concealed-carry concealed-weapon first-amendment law-enforcement-officer-safety-act law-enforcement-safety-act public-employee public-employee-speech qualified-retired-law-enforcement-officer section-1983 social-media-posts In a reported opinion, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of claims brought by Norris Paul Carey, Jr., a retired twenty-six-ye…
19-653 Theresa Ortloff v. Dave Trimmer, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-11-20 Denied Response Waived connick-v-myers due-process first-amendment first-amendment-speech-public-interest-connick-v-m free-speech procedural-due-process public-employee public-employee-speech public-interest speech whistleblower-protection 1. Must the entire record, including motives, main thrust of the speech, and all instances of speech be reviewed under Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 …
19-342 Mark F. McCaffrey v. Michael L. Chapman, et al. Fourth Circuit 2019-09-16 Denied Amici (2)Response Waived civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech free-speech-balancing law-enforcement law-enforcement-discretion partisan-politics patronage-termination pickering-connick political-retaliation public-employee public-employee-speech public-employment In Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347 (1976) and Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980), the Court recognized a patronage exemption from First Amendment prot…
18-282 Kelly H. Tucker v. Patrick Atwater, Jr., et al. Georgia 2018-09-05 Denied civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech government-interests Pickering-balancing-test pickering-test public-employee-speech public-employment public-interest qualified-immunity section-1983 1) If Pickering and its progeny are applicable to cases involving off-duty public employees who are speaking to matters of public interest which are n…