Opinion ID: 1242225
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Possession of Controlled Substance as Just Cause

Text: In reversing the Commission and concluding that the City lacked just cause to terminate the Appellee's employment, the circuit court relied upon the reasoning of the Court of Appeals of Minnesota in Recommendation for Discharge of Kelvie, 384 N.W.2d 901 (Minn.App.1986). In that case, firefighter John Kelvie had been arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana, injection equipment, and drugs not in an original container. In finding that no just cause existed for the termination of Mr. Kelvie's employment as a firefighter, the court analyzed the rules of the Minneapolis Civil Service Commission, providing that incompetence, insubordination, disgraceful conduct, or other justifiable causes shall constitute sufficient cause for removal or discharge. 384 N.W.2d at 903. The court found no relationship between Mr. Kelvie's possession of a small quantity of marijuana and his job performance. 384 N.W.2d at 904. The court emphasized that the issue of whether the Commission had just cause to discharge Mr. Kelvie was a question of fact and that the Commission's findings were supported by the record. Id. Thus, the court did not reverse the findings of the Commission. Further, the court observed that the administrative law judge had found that `the main reason John Kelvie was discharged was because of his failure to respond to the questioning . . . on Fifth Amendment grounds.' Id. at 905. In addressing the issues surrounding just cause for termination in the present case, the circuit court order did not include an analysis of a Court of Appeals of Minnesota case decided subsequent to the Kelvie decision. In City of Minneapolis v. Moe, 450 N.W.2d 367, 370 (Minn.App.1990), the court addressed the Kelvie decision and noted that the decision to discharge in Mr. Kelvie was principally based upon the firefighter's assertion of his Fifth Amendment rights. 450 N.W.2d at 370. The Moe court stated that the  Kelvie decision is therefore distinguishable on that basis. Id. In evaluating the Moe factual circumstances, the Minnesota court found that the police officer's felonious possession of cocaine constituted misconduct striking at the very essence of law enforcement. Id. The court explained that such  felonious misconduct is inconsistent with the public trust and continued as follows: The image of integrity and trust is essential to the performance of a police officer's duties. There must be public confidence in law enforcement, and to ignore felonious possession of cocaine by a police officer could only serve to undermine public confidence in that office. This is a time in our society when the scourge of cocaine is running rampant in many parts of our country. We cannot be blind to society's concern about the adverse influence of cocaine in our midst. Id. Significantly, the Moe court specified that [f]elonious possession of cocaine, a violation of the law, must be distinguished from possession or use of alcohol, which is not illegal. 450 N.W.2d at 371. We find this comment instructive and relevant to the tasks before us. As this Court explained in State ex rel. Ashley v. Civil Service Commission, 183 W.Va. 364, 395 S.E.2d 787 (1990), circumstances which have been considered just cause [for dismissal] are involvement in activity which casts aspersions or doubt on a law enforcement officer's honesty and integrity and which directly affects the public's rights and interests. 183 W.Va. at 368, 395 S.E.2d at 791. See also McMillian v. Ashley, 193 W.Va. 269, 273, 455 S.E.2d 921, 925 (1995). In the case sub judice, this Court holds that a firefighter's possession of cocaine or crack cocaine constitutes misconduct of a substantial nature specifically related to and affecting the ability to perform tasks inherent in the employment and directly affecting the rights and interests of the public. A firefighter's job is characterized by his or her responsibility to the public, and the health and mental acuity of public safety personnel are of utmost significance.