Opinion ID: 604150
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Process Due

Text: 8 In this case, Mr. Browning vehemently disputes the district court's finding that he had no property interest in his position with the Fire Department. Indeed, he must do so, for without a property interest in his employment, Browning had no right to procedural due process. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576-78, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2708-10, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972); Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 599, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 2698, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972). However, this Court need not reach that issue, for we find that even if Browning had the requisite property interest in his position as a fire fighter, the City of Odessa provided him with all of the procedural safeguards due him under the Fourteenth Amendment. 9 The parties do not dispute that prior to dismissing Browning on November 29, Chief Gardner notified Browning of the recommended termination, discussed with Browning the reasons for the recommendation, and allowed Browning to present his side of the story. Further, Browning does not contend that adequate post-termination process was unavailable to him. However, Browning does argue that the November 29 meeting did not provide him with sufficient pretermination due process. We disagree. 10 The United States Supreme Court decided in Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, that if a governmental employer provides a full post-termination hearing, pretermination due process is limited. 470 U.S. 532, 546, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 1495, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985). In such circumstances, before dismissing an employee, the employer need only provide the employee with written or oral notice of the charges raised against him, explain to the employee the nature of the evidence of those charges, and afford the employee an opportunity to respond. Id.; Helton v. Clements, 832 F.2d 332, 337 (5th Cir.1987); Schaper v. City of Huntsville, 813 F.2d 709, 714 (5th Cir.1987). 11 A satisfactory pretermination hearing need not be elaborate, for such a hearing is merely designed to prevent the employer from making a mistake. Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 545, 105 S.Ct. at 1495. The purpose of the hearing is simply to ensure that the charges raised against the employee are true and support his or her dismissal. Id. Thus, an informal hearing which allows the employee to give his version of the facts sufficiently hedges against an erroneous dismissal and likewise satisfies the requirements of due process. Id. at 546 & n. 8, 105 S.Ct. at 1495 & n. 8; Caine v. Hardy, 943 F.2d 1406, 1412 (5th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1474, 117 L.Ed.2d 618 (1992). 12 The record in this case clearly reveals that Browning received a pretermination hearing which complied with those due process requirements. He was given notice of the proposed dismissal, informed of the reasons for that dismissal, and given an opportunity to respond. Although the meeting between Chief Gardner and Mr. Browning lasted no more than thirty minutes, the Due Process Clause required nothing more since a full evidentiary post-termination hearing was available. 7 Based upon the facts before us, this Court must conclude that the initial November 29, 1990, pretermination meeting between Chief Gardner and Mr. Browning clearly met the minimum requirements of the Due Process Clause since elaborate post-termination procedural safeguards were available.