Opinion ID: 1179762
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Threshold Public Concern Test

Text: An employee's expression may be fairly characterized as constituting expression on a matter of public concern when it relat[es] to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community, id. at 146, 103 S.Ct. at 1689, as determined by the content, form, and context of [that expression] as revealed by the whole record. Id. at 147-48, 103 S.Ct. at 1690-91. In answering the question whether the employee's speech involves a matter of public concern, the court must examine for itself the statements in issue and the circumstances under which they are made to see whether they are of a character that the First Amendment protects. Rankin v. McPherson, supra, 483 U.S. at 386, 107 S.Ct. at 2897; Connick v. Myers, supra, 461 U.S. at 150 n. 10, 103 S.Ct. at 1692 n. 10. The inappropriate or controversial character of the expression is irrelevant to the inquiry. Rankin v. McPherson, supra, 483 U.S. at 387, 107 S.Ct. at 2898. Whether speech concerns a matter of public concern is a question of law, not fact, for the Court. Connick v. Myers, supra, 461 U.S. at 148 n. 7, 103 S.Ct. at 1690 n. 7.