Opinion ID: 398916
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: adequacy of hearing procedure

Text: 19 In the same letter dated December 15, 1977 in which President McCormick notified Skehan that the College was no longer proceeding with its nonrenewal action, he also informed Skehan that the College would proceed to the required hearing on Skehan's dismissal. By letter dated January 5, 1978 from Assistant Attorney General C. Glendon Frank, who was acting as counsel to President McCormick, Skehan was notified that this hearing would take place on January 14, 1978 before a committee composed of one representative chosen by the President and the four highest vote-getting members of the Committee on Professional Affairs who can be available on that date and time. App. at 600a. The letter enclosed a Statement of Charges against Skehan, prepared by Deputy Attorney General Howard Levinson who presented the charges against Skehan at the hearing, and stated that The administration takes no position on the truth or falsity of these charges. In this regard, the letter stated, As counsel to the President, I view his position as one of a decision maker, not a prosecutor in this instance. The letter further stated that each side would have the right to present witnesses at the hearing who would be subject to cross-examination by opposing counsel and that the hearing committee (would) make findings of fact as to the truth or falsity of the Statement of Charges, and make a recommendation thereon to the President. Skehan objected to the procedure and notified the members of the entire Committee on Professional Affairs that neither he nor any representative on his behalf would attend. The hearing committee was thereafter reconstituted to the full nine-member Committee on Professional Affairs and held its first meeting at the time scheduled. 20 Skehan was subsequently notified of the committee's intention to hold additional meetings on January 27, February 10, February 17 and February 18, but he did not appear at any of the meetings except to appear at the meeting on January 27th to make an objection to the jurisdiction of the Committee on Professional Affairs. Skehan subsequently received a copy of the final report of the hearing committee dated April 10, 1978 which made findings of fact and recommended that Skehan's contract be terminated. A two-member minority report recommended against termination. By letter dated May 11, 1978 from Assistant Attorney General Frank, Skehan's attorney was granted the opportunity to file a post-hearing brief and was invited to attend and present his views at the meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 17, 1978, at which the Board would consider its recommendation to the President on whether Skehan should be dismissed. 21 On June 2, 1978, President McCormick informed Skehan that based on the recommendations of the hearing committee and the Board, he was being terminated and removed from the College payroll, effective that day. Skehan then filed a motion with the district court to enforce paragraphs 11 and 12 of that court's judgment of July 20, 1977. Skehan contended the hearings were not timely, failed to comply with the requirements of the district court's order of July 20, 1977, and did not comport with due process. Each of these contentions was rejected by the district court. 22 Skehan contends that he had a right to have the dismissal procedure comport with the procedures set forth in article 9 of the Statement of Policy for Continuous Employment and Academic Freedom at Bloomsburg College, and he also appears to contend that the district court specifically so provided in its judgment of July 20, 1977. Turning to the latter contention first, we note that in its July 20, 1977 opinion the district court stated: 23 Skehan's reinstatement to a suspended status may be ended either by his full reinstatement or a termination. The College will be required to afford him a hearing comporting with due process at which he will have an opportunity to refute any charges relating to his conduct in 1970. 24 436 F.Supp. at 664. 8 Looking to the plain language of the district court's order, we agree with its interpretation that the order did not require defendants to provide Skehan with any particular sort of hearing, other than one which comported with the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 25 We also reject Skehan's contention that he had a contractual right to the procedures set forth in Article 9 upon dismissal for cause. 9 As this court has previously recognized, Article 9 by its terms prescribed the procedures to be afforded tenured faculty members upon dismissal for cause. See 590 F.2d at 473 n.1. It is conceded that Dr. Skehan was a non-tenured faculty member. The Article 9 procedures also applied to nonrenewal decisions when the faculty member alleged that a decision not to reappoint him has been caused by considerations violative of academic freedom. It was this language which was applied to support the holding that Skehan was entitled to the Article 9 procedure on his nonrenewal decision. See 431 F.Supp. at 1388. There is no comparable language applying those procedures to for cause dismissals of non-tenured faculty. While we may agree with Skehan that the failure to so provide was illogical, we cannot read into the Statement language that does not appear in that detailed document. 10 26 Although Skehan contends that various policy statements of the American Association of University Professors should be read into the College's written policy, even under the most liberal interpretation we could conclude only that the reference in the College's Faculty Handbook for 1970-71 to the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors 11 constituted an adoption of the 1940 Statement. The specific procedures which Skehan argues were not applied in his case are not derived from the 1940 Statement, but from subsequent additions and revisions which were not specifically referred to in the College's Faculty Handbook. Therefore, even if we were to agree with Skehan that the College had adopted the 1940 Statement, there is no basis on this record to find that the College also intended to adopt those additional statements upon which Skehan relies. Moreover, as discussed infra, the record establishes that the procedures afforded Skehan in connection with his dismissal hearing substantially complied with the 1940 Statement. 27 Thus, we conclude that the College was not required to afford Skehan the precise procedures set out in Article 9. We must still determine whether there is any validity to his claim that the procedures he was afforded did not comport with the minimal constitutional requirements of due process. We are guided in our inquiry by the standards established in Chung v. Park, 514 F.2d 382 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 948, 96 S.Ct. 364, 46 L.Ed.2d 282 (1975), where we reviewed the procedures afforded a college faculty member upon the college's decision not to renew his contract. In holding that the procedures afforded the plaintiff in Chung satisfied the requirements of due process, we emphasized that (i)f the procedure used by the college is adequate to prevent unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious termination decisions, it satisfies due process. Id. at 387. We further noted that in pretermination hearings ... the person being deprived of his 'property interest' is entitled to minimum procedural safeguards which are adapted to the particular characteristics of the interests involved and the limited nature of the controversy. Id. at 386. The safeguards enumerated in that decision were: 28 (1) written notice of the grounds for termination; (2) disclosure of the evidence supporting termination; (3) the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses; (4) an opportunity to be heard in person and to present witnesses and documentary evidence; (5) a neutral and detached hearing body; and (6) a written statement by the fact finders as to the evidence relied upon. 29 Id. 30 Applying the principles enunciated in Chung, the district court found that the procedures afforded Skehan fully satisfied the requirements of due process. The district court found that: (1) Skehan received written notice of the grounds for termination; (2) a pretermination hearing was conducted by members of the Committee on Professional Affairs; (3) Skehan was advised of the nature of the proceedings and was given the right to present witnesses at the hearing but chose not to participate; (4) Skehan received a copy of the committee's findings of fact and final recommendation, dated April 10, 1978, recommending that his contract be terminated; and (5) Skehan's counsel was provided with a tape of the proceedings and was able to file post-hearing briefs. App. at 919a-923a. Having reviewed the evidence before the district court, we agree that the pretermination procedures afforded Skehan satisfied the requirements of due process. 31 Skehan contends that the above procedures failed to satisfy the requirements of due process because (1) he was bombarded with contradictory proposals and authoritative announcements as to the identity of his accuser, the identity of the hearing body that would hear his case, and the time and place of hearing, Appellant's brief at 46; (2) he was not provided a transcript of the proceedings before the Committee on Professional Affairs; and (3) attorneys from the same agency advised the Committee and the College President, and presented the charges against Skehan to the Committee on behalf of the College. 32 We do not agree. The record does show some evidence of initial confusion as to the date 12 and identity of the hearing body. 13 However, on January 11, 1978 Skehan wrote to all members of the Committee on Professional Affairs, the body ultimately designated to conduct the hearing, stating that he would not attend the meeting on January 14, 1978, which clearly establishes that on that date Skehan was aware that a meeting would take place on January 14, 1978 but that he voluntarily chose not to attend on the ground, inter alia, that the College president failed to sign the charges. The record also establishes that while no transcripts of the hearings were provided, due to the unavoidable absence of the reporter who had been scheduled to attend, the hearings were tape recorded and the tapes were made available to Skehan's attorney. Skehan suggests the College should have notified him that a new nine-member committee had been formed. Since he declined to attend the hearing allegedly because of the failure of Dr. McCormick to sign the charges, we do not believe that the apparent failure to notify Skehan that the committee was reconstituted amounted to a denial of due process. Although he may not have known at that time that the hearing committee was expanded to the full nine-member Committee on Professional Affairs rather than the smaller group to which he had objected, he concededly was aware of the composition of the hearing committee by the second meeting when he appeared before it. He did not at that time or thereafter change his position and participate. Therefore under these circumstances, we cannot conclude that the failure to notify him of the reconstituted hearing committee violated any of Skehan's rights. 33 With regard to the involvement of the attorneys from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, 14 the district court found no violation of Skehan's due process rights: 34 Plaintiff has submitted nothing to indicate that the three individuals involved in any way influenced the decision of the hearing committee. The fact that all were employed by the same agency is not sufficient. Moreover, it is undisputed that the role of the Assistant Attorney General advising the committee was merely to advise it on procedural and evidentiary matters subject at all times to being overruled by the Committee. Moreover, affidavits submitted by the Committee's counsel explain in detail his actions and show no basis to conclude that Plaintiff's due process rights were not respected. 35 App. at 922. In Withrow v. Larkin, 421 U.S. 35, 95 S.Ct. 1456, 43 L.Ed.2d 712 (1975), the Court considered a claim that a Wisconsin procedure which authorized the state's medical hearing board to investigate, hear and act upon practices by doctors and order temporary suspensions violated procedural due process. In rejecting this claim, the Court held that the combination of investigatory and adjudicatory functions in an administrative agency does not in and of itself amount to a denial of procedural due process and that before such a combination of functions can be found violative of due process there must be a showing that the combination interferes with the honesty and integrity of the adjudicator, and that there is such a risk of actual bias that the practice must be forbidden if due process is to be afforded. Id. at 47, 95 S.Ct. at 1464. See also Hoke v. Board of Medical Examiners, 395 F.Supp. 357 (W.D.N.C.1975) (three-judge court) (holding that combined role of Board of Medical Examiners under state statute as investigator and adjudicator does not constitute a denial of due process). Here Skehan did not allege that the hearing committee performed multiple functions, but merely that the attorneys advising the committee and the President of the College were employed by the same office as the attorney presenting the facts in favor of termination. 36 Skehan does not allege any specific improper conduct or bias on the part of these attorneys. In fact, the three different attorneys were originally assigned to the Skehan case so as to avoid unfairness so that each level of review will be able to act independently of the prior level. Letter to Skehan from Deputy Attorney General Gerald Gornish (Oct. 24, 1977), App. at 480a. We find that under the facts of this case, the involvement of the three attorneys from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office did not amount to a denial of due process. 37 Accordingly, we conclude that the procedures afforded Skehan satisfied the requirements of due process. He was fully informed of the charges against him prior to the hearing and was presented with an opportunity to be heard and to present witnesses before a neutral hearing body, but chose not to participate. Under the standards established in Chung v. Park, 514 F.2d at 387, the procedures were adequate to prevent unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious termination decisions. 38 Finally, we turn to Skehan's contention that the district court erred in failing to conduct a hearing regarding his motion to enforce the July 20, 1977 judgment of the district court. Skehan contends that he relied upon an indication by the trial judge that there would be a hearing and that the failure to conduct a hearing precluded him from introducing additional evidence in support of his motion at such a hearing. 39 An order entered in this case by the district court on May 2, 1980, prior to the submission of Skehan's motion, provided: Submissions and determinations of motions shall be upon briefs, without hearing or oral argument, unless the court specifically directs otherwise. At a conference with the district court on September 10, 1980, following filing of the motion in question, the district judge specifically asked Skehan's counsel whether there was a need for a hearing on this motion: 40 THE COURT: Well, is it going to be a need for a hearing on the motions, for instance, to enforce the Court order? 41 MR. GLASSBERG: We believe we have contained all our facts in the affidavit and that it can be decided on the brief and the affidavit-rather, the motion and the affidavit in support of the brief. 42 App. at 772a. While the court at the same hearing did indicate its reluctance to decide anything on affidavits, and interpreted the standing order regarding decisions on briefs alone as inapplicable if there were any factual items in dispute, the court did not make a conclusive determination that a hearing would take place. Furthermore, Skehan does not allege that he specifically requested a hearing at any time prior to the ultimate disposition of his motion on December 5, 1980. 15 43 In considering Skehan's motion to alter or amend the court's order denying his motion to enforce the judgment, the district court ruled that an evidentiary hearing is not required in order for the Court to determine what type of hearing was required by its order and that plaintiff's motion raises nothing to warrant altering the Court's conclusion that the undisputed facts show that the hearing provided Plaintiff satisfied the requirements of due process. App. at 935a-936a. At least two Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 43(e) and Rule 78, authorize the district court to dispense with hearings in appropriate circumstances. The district court was fully cognizant that a hearing would be required if there were contested material factual issues upon which its determination would rest. We see no reason to disturb its conclusion that the question presented by Skehan's motion was properly determined on the basis of the briefs and the detailed affidavits submitted by the parties. Indeed, in reaching its decision, the district court relied primarily upon the facts contained in Skehan's own affidavit. 44 Although we conclude that the district court did not err in declining to award back pay to Skehan and declining to require still another hearing on his dismissal for cause, we do not leave this case without some lingering uneasiness. The findings of the Committee on Professional Affairs that the decision not to renew Dr. Skehan's contract was for reasons which were violative of his academic freedom and that it has seen no convincing evidence that Dr. Skehan would not have been rehired had he remained silent about campus issues, App. at 589a, have not been vindicated. The College chose to ignore the Committee's recommendation that Skehan's status and contract renewal should be reconsidered and that he should be reinstated and given a teaching assignment in the interim. The prior holdings in this litigation, and the applicable law, permitted the College to rely instead on the dismissal for cause decision, a decision that was upheld by a majority of the same faculty committee. This lengthy and divisive dispute could easily have been avoided by establishment by the College and the faculty of comprehensive policies covering both substance and procedure of all decisions affecting faculty status, including dismissal for cause. We return to a theme sounded previously, that the courts are hardly the best fora for resolution of academic disputes. See Trotman v. Board of Trustees of Lincoln University, 635 F.2d 216, 218-19 (3d Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 986, 101 S.Ct. 2320, 68 L.Ed.2d 844 (1981). We continue to hope that the same spirit of light, of liberty, and of learning which we believe characterizes places of higher education 16 applies not only to faculty and student learning and research but also to the relations between faculty and administration. 45 For the reasons set forth above, the orders of the district court denying Skehan's motion for an award of special damages and his motion to enforce the judgment of July 20, 1977 will be affirmed.