Opinion ID: 469047
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Arbitrator's Decision Drew its Essence from the

Text: Collective Bargaining Agreement 19 We reject the District Court's decision in this case because it flies in the face of the legal principles enunciated in Enterprise Wheel and W.R. Grace. The trial court specifically stated that the arbitrator's interpretation was supported by a conceivable reading of the collective bargaining agreement. However, instead of accepting the arbitrator's construction, the District Court adopted a different interpretation which it felt was superior. It is precisely this type of judicial selection between competing contract interpretations which is foreclosed by the mandate of Enterprise Wheel. The parties bargained for the arbitrator's construction of the contract and they are bound by it; a court has no authority to substitute its judgment for that of the arbitrator. At oral argument, even counsel for the Postal Service appeared to recognize that the District Court's rationale was fatally flawed. 20 We reinstate the arbitrator's award because, as the District Court initially recognized, it draws its essence from the collective bargaining agreement. It is plain that the contract gave the arbitrator the authority to consider the applicability of a Miranda -type rule. The arbitrator stated that pertinent contract language appeared, inter alia, in a provision of the agreement specifying that the discharge of Postal Service employees must be consistent with applicable laws and regulations. The Miranda rule is surely within the realm of applicable law when interrogation by federal law enforcement officers leads to the discharge of an employee. Nothing in the contract describes how to handle such a situation, nor does the agreement prohibit an arbitrator from considering the Miranda rule. 21 When viewed from the proper perspective, this case involves a very routine dispute over the application of an evidentiary rule; such disputes are standard fare for arbitrators. The constitutional overtones emanating from the arbitrator's judgment to consider the applicability of Miranda in no sense alter the conclusion that the arbitrator's decision reflected his interpretation of the contract. 22