Opinion ID: 782715
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prior Legal Action

Text: 17 Melzer brought the instant § 1983 action in the Eastern District challenging his dismissal by the defendant Board. The district court conducted a bench trial, and in affirming the Board's decision, see Melzer v. Bd. of Educ., 196 F.Supp.2d 229 (E.D.N.Y.2002), found credible Galasso's reports of significant disruption at the high school. It concluded that Melzer was terminated solely because his employer reasonably believed that the public exposure of [Melzer's] associational activities ... was likely to impair Melzer's effectiveness as a teacher and cause internal disruption if he were returned to the classroom. Id. at 245. The threat of such disruption, the district court believed, weighed more heavily than Melzer's rights to speech and association. Id. at 250-52. 18 With this factual background in mind, we turn now to a discussion of the legal issues.