Opinion ID: 770953
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Applicability of Qualified Immunity for First Amendment Claims

Text: 77 Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker contend that they are entitled to qualified immunity because they did not violate clearly established law. They argue that the information regarding two police officers and Chief Deutsch that the plaintiffs desired to present to the district attorney was the fruit of the plaintiffs' work as police officers and was not an appropriate matter of public concern. They assert that the duty to disclose the details and source of information concerning non-criminal activity by fellow police officers to a superior officer for a determination whether it should be investigated by IAD, in order to maintain a loyal and cohesive law enforcement agency, outweighed the plaintiffs' freedom of expression. They also maintain that reasonable officials in their position would have believed that there were legitimate reasons, unrelated to the plaintiffs' speech, for transferring the plaintiffs and failing to promote Sergeant Oladeinde. 78 The plaintiffs contend that Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker are not entitled to qualified immunity because it was clearly established on January 4, 1991, that their speech was protected, and because the jury expressly determined in a special verdict that the defendants were motivated by a retaliatory motive and did not act against the plaintiffs for appropriate reasons. 79 This court reviews a district court's ruling on a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Gupta v. Florida Board of Regents, 212 F.3d 571, 582 (11th Cir.2000). In determining whether a government official is entitled to qualified immunity following a jury verdict, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party that prevailed at trial. See Priester v. City of Riviera Beach, 208 F.3d 919, 925 n. 3 (11th Cir.2000) (citing Iacobucci v. Boulter, 193 F.3d 14, 23 (1st Cir.1999)). In so doing, we give deference to the jury's discernible resolution of disputed factual issues. Iacobucci, 193 F.3d at 23 (citing Frazell v. Flanigan, 102 F.3d 877, 886 (7th Cir.1996)). 80 Government officials performing discretionary functions are entitled to qualified immunity 'insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.'  Hartley v. Parnell, 193 F.3d 1263, 1268 (11th Cir.1999) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). In determining whether the defense of qualified immunity is applicable, we must first consider whether the plaintiffs established facts demonstrating a deprivation of an actual constitutional or statutory right. See id. (citing Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999)). If so, we must then determine whether that right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation. See id. A right is clearly established if the contours of the right [violated are] sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. McElligott v. Foley, 182 F.3d 1248, 1260 (11th Cir.1999) (quoting United States v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 270, 117 S.Ct. 1219, 137 L.Ed.2d 432 (1997)) 81 We first examine whether the plaintiffs presented evidence of a deprivation of an actual First Amendment right. A public employee has a limited right to free speech. See Maggio v. Sipple, 211 F.3d 1346, 1351 (11th Cir.2000). A public employee's speech is constitutionally protected if the speech may be fairly characterized as constituting speech on a matter of public concern, and the employee's interest in commenting on the matter outweighs the government's interest in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. Id. (quoting Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 142, 146, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983)); see also Pickering v. Board of Educ., 391 U.S. 563, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968) (establishing the balancing test). In determining whether a government employee's speech is related to a matter of public concern, we must consider the content, form, and context of the speech. See id. at 1352 (quoting Connick, 461 U.S. at 147-48, 103 S.Ct. 1684). Even if the speech is protected, the Government may prevail if it can prove that it would have reached the same decision ... even in the absence of protected conduct. Grigley v. City of Atlanta, 136 F.3d 752, 754 (11th Cir.1998) (quoting Bryson v. City of Waycross, 888 F.2d 1562, 1566 (11th Cir.1989)) (internal quotations omitted). 82
83 As discussed above, the plaintiffs did not clearly specify the allegedly protected speech until oral argument before this court. In response to a question from the court, plaintiffs stated that the violation of plaintiffs' right to speak out about a matter of public concern at issue in this appeal occurred when plaintiffs approached Walker to present information regarding the jail records tampering. 7 Accordingly, our analysis of the alleged protected speech will be limited to the request by Sergeant Oladeinde and Officer Fields for permission to make a report to the district attorney, Captain Walker's refusal, and the alleged retaliatory acts that followed. 8 84 The record shows that Sergeant Oladeinde and Officer Fields requested Captain Walker's permission to report to the district attorney that Officer Fields had seen two fellow officers looking at jail records concerning the arrest of Mayor Arrington's daughter. Officer Fields refused Captain Walker's request that she disclose what she had observed. Sergeant Oladeinde also refused to reveal what Officer Fields had told her about the conduct of the two BPD officers regarding the jail records. After Officer Fields informed Captain Walker that she had not observed the commission of a crime by the two BPD police officers, Captain Walker denied their request to go to the district attorney, and directed the plaintiffs to make a report to the IAD. 85 While Officer Fields failed to disclose any facts concerning her observations, including the names of the officers, she did inform Captain Walker that it related to the investigation of Chief Deutsch's alleged tampering of arrest records. See Stanley v. City of Dalton, 219 F.3d 1280 (11th Cir.2000) (Although the theoretical form of [the plaintiff's] statements affects the weight we give this speech in the Pickering balance, it does not defeat the public concern nature of [his] speech.). Clearly, it is a matter of public concern that a police chief and members of his department would tamper with public records to cover up the criminal conduct of a family member of the highest elected official of a city. Such speech relates to a matter of political, social, or other concern to the community. See Maggio, 211 F.3d at 1352 (quoting Connick, 461 U.S. at 146, 103 S.Ct. 1684) (describing speech that constitutes a matter of public concern). An attempt to disclose alleged corruption within a police department is speech related to a matter of public concern because a core concern of the first amendment is the protection of the 'whistle-blower' attempting to expose government corruption. Bryson, 888 F.2d at 1566; see also Cooper v. Smith, 89 F.3d 761, 765 (11th Cir.1996) (There can be no doubt that corruption in a police department is an issue of public concern.); Fikes v. City of Daphne, 79 F.3d 1079, 1084 (11th Cir.1996) (same); Stanley, 219 F.3d 1280 (same). 86 Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker argue that the speech did not involve a matter of public concern because Officer Fields made her observations in the course of her work as a police officer. They also note that Officer Fields reported her observations to her supervisor, Captain Walker, and not to the public. Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker assert that this case is therefore controlled by Morris v. Crow, 142 F.3d 1379 (11th Cir.1998). In Morris, this court held that the plaintiff's speech did not involve a matter of public concern because his speech was generated pursuant to his official and customary duties as an accident investigator with the sheriff's office. Id. at 1382. This court based its conclusion that the speech was not related to a matter of public concern, however, on the fact that there was nothing in the record demonstrating that the plaintiff's purpose was to bring to light any wrongdoing or to do any more than accurately report an accident in the course of his employment. Id. 87 Unlike the plaintiff in Morris, Officer Fields informed Captain Walker that she observed two BPD police officers looking at records involved in the investigation of Chief Deutsch's alleged tampering with prison records. Sergeant. Oladeinde's and Officer Fields's purpose was to bring possible wrongdoing to light. Simply because the plaintiffs sought permission from their supervisor before reporting the information to the district attorney does not remove their speech from the public's interest. Nor does the fact that the plaintiffs did not report Officer Fields's observations to the district attorney change the fact that the speech suppressed by Captain Walker was related to a matter of public concern. See Gonzalez v. Lee County Hous. Auth., 161 F.3d 1290, 1296 (11th Cir.1998) (rejecting argument that a plaintiff's speech was not related to a matter of public concern simply because the speech was made solely in the confines of the workplace) (citing Connick, 461 U.S. at 149, 103 S.Ct. 1684); Morgan v. Ford, 6 F.3d 750, 754 n. 5 (11th Cir.1993) (recognizing that, although it is a relevant factor, a court cannot determine that an utterance is not a matter of public concern solely because the employee does not air the concerns to the public); see also Dill v. City of Edmond, 155 F.3d 1193, 1202 (10th Cir.1998) ([T]he fact that Plaintiff chose a private forum within the police department and the district attorney's office, rather than a public forum, does not remove the speech from First Amendment protection.). We are persuaded that the plaintiffs' speech in this case was related to a matter of public concern.
88 In order to establish that their speech was protected, a plaintiff must do more than assert that the speech relates to a matter of public concern. A plaintiff must also demonstrate that his or her interest in speaking out on the matter is not outweighed by the government's interest in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. Maggio, 211 F.3d at 1351 (quoting Connick, 461 U.S. at 142, 103 S.Ct. 1684); see also Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731 (establishing the balancing test). Several factors inform our analysis of the government's interest in the efficient provision of public services: (1) whether the speech at issue impedes the government's ability to perform its duties efficiently, (2) the manner, time and place of the speech, and (3) the context within which the speech was made. Bryson, 888 F.2d at 1567. 89 In considering these factors in a 1983 action brought by police officers against their public employer, we are required to consider the fact that members of a law enforcement agency are part of a quasi-military organization. See Hansen v. Soldenwagner, 19 F.3d 573, 577 (11th Cir.1994) ([T]he Pickering balance is also affected ... by the special concerns of quasi-military organizations such as police departments.). In a law enforcement agency, there is a heightened need for order, loyalty, morale and harmony, which affords a police department more latitude in responding to the speech of its officers than other government employers. See Rogers v. Miller, 57 F.3d 986, 991 (11th Cir.1995) (citing Hansen, 19 F.3d at 577); see also O'Donnell v. Barry, 148 F.3d 1126, 1135 (D.C.Cir.1998) ([B]ecause of the special degree of trust and discipline required in a police force there may be a stronger governmental interest in regulating the speech of police officers than in regulating the speech of other governmental employees.); Dill, 155 F.3d at 1203 (recognizing that the government's interest is particularly acute in the context of law enforcement, where there is a heightened interest ... in maintaining discipline and harmony among employees) (quoting Moore v. City of Wynnewood, 57 F.3d 924, 934 (10th Cir.1995)); Campbell v. Towse, 99 F.3d 820, 829-30 (7th Cir.1996) (It surely cannot be doubted that individuals who work in the highest echelons of the command of a police department must be assured of the loyalty of their immediate subordinates, as these subordinates are entrusted with carrying out their orders, at times under the most trying conditions.). 90 Here, Officer Fields refused to disclose any facts to Captain Walker other than that she observed two police officers looking at the arrest records of the mayor's daughter and that they were not committing a crime. Sergeant Oladeinde also refused Captain Walker's request that she provide further detail regarding the information they wanted to report. Given the fact that the plaintiffs provided no details regarding the alleged misconduct, and that they refused to do so when asked by their commanding officer, the plaintiffs' speech was disruptive to the efficient operation of the BPD. 91 Because they refused to name the BPD police officers observed by Officer Fields, Captain Walker was unable to determine whether the officers observed by Officer Fields were conducting an authorized investigation of Chief Deutsch's alleged misconduct, or if they were engaged in a non-criminal violation of departmental regulations calling for administrative discipline. Without any verifiable facts, the BPD had an interest in keeping Officer Fields's allegations against the BPD police officers within that agency until the IAD could investigate their conduct, especially because Officer Fields stated that they were not committing any crime. 92 In Busby v. City of Orlando, 931 F.2d 764 (11th Cir.1991), this court recognized that [i]n quasi-military organizations such as law enforcement agencies, comments concerning co-workers' performance of their duties and superior officers' integrity can directly interfere with the confidentiality, esprit de corps and efficient operation of the police department. Id. at 774 (quoting Egger v. Phillips, 710 F.2d 292, 327 (7th Cir.1983)) (internal quotations omitted); see also Stanley, 219 F.3d 1280 (recognizing that a police department has a strong interest in preventing its officers from making unfounded accusations against a superior officer because it could be considered disruptive and potentially undermining to the mutual respect and confidence needed for fellow officers in a police department). In Busby, this court concluded that, in light of these interests of a law enforcement agency, the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because the defendants did not bar [the plaintiff] from voicing her complaints; they merely sought to delay her access to a public forum until after the [ ] internal affairs division could investigate her complaints. Id. Like the defendant in Busby, Captain Walker did not order the plaintiffs not to disclose Officer Fields's observations. Rather, he directed the plaintiffs to report it to IAD. 93 Furthermore, the plaintiffs' speech interfered with the efficient operation of the BPD because they refused to disclose the nature of the information to Captain Walker after he requested them to do so. Such a refusal of their commanding officer's order demonstrates that the plaintiffs' speech interfered with the BPD's strong interest in maintaining discipline and loyalty of its officers. See Rogers, 57 F.3d at 991 (holding that, given the special need for order and loyalty, a supervising officer in the sheriff's department was entitled to qualified immunity for transferring his subordinate where the supervisor expressed concern that he could no longer supervise the subordinate because of his speech activities); see also Campbell, 99 F.3d at 829-30 (It surely cannot be doubted that individuals who work in the highest echelons of the command of a police department must be assured of the loyalty of their immediate subordinates, as these subordinates are entrusted with carrying out their orders, at times under the most trying conditions.); Cochran v. City of Los Angeles, 222 F.3d 1195 (9th Cir.2000) (concluding that a city has a significant interest in responding to a police officer's speech where the speech impair[ed] discipline by superiors.) (citation omitted). Indeed, the record shows that the tension between Captain Walker and the plaintiffs was a primary reason for transferring them out of the Narcotics Unit. Thus, the plaintiffs' interest in taking the information to the district attorney was outweighed by the BPD's interests in its efficient operation given the disruption that might be caused if the plaintiffs reported Officer Fields's observations to the district attorney without a prior investigation by IAD. Furthermore, a report by Officer Fields to the district attorney of her undisclosed and unverified observations, prior to an investigation by the IAD, would have created a risk of harming the reputation and careers of two BPD officers who may not have committed any misconduct. Permitting such an injustice undoubtedly would have harmed the morale of the members of the BPD. 94 We conclude that the plaintiffs' speech was not protected because their interest in speaking out was outweighed by the BPD's interests in maintaining order, loyalty, morale, and harmony. Because the plaintiffs have not demonstrated a violation of a right protected by the First Amendment, we need not proceed to an analysis of whether the law was clearly established. Likewise, we need not consider whether their transfers, and the failure to promote Sergeant Oladeinde were retaliatory. We conclude that Captain Walker and Chief Deutsch were entitled to the protection of the defense of qualified immunity as a matter of law. Thus, the district court erred in submitting this question to the jury, see Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 526, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985) (The entitlement is an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability ....), and in denying their renewed motions for a judgment as a matter of law. IV THE CITY'S APPEAL 95 In response to the district court's special interrogatories, the jury found that Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker were not policy makers for the City, and that the City did not have any policy that encouraged Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker to violate 1983. Based on these conclusions, the jury found that the City was not liable to Sergeant Oladeinde or Officer Fields for money damages. 96 A city or local government agency may not be held liable for constitutional deprivations on the theory of respondeat superior. Rather, they may be held liable only if such constitutional torts result from an official government policy, the actions of an official fairly deemed to represent government policy, or a custom or practice so pervasive and well-settled that it assumes the force of law. Denno v. School Bd. of Volusia County, 218 F.3d 1267, 1276 (11th Cir.2000) (citing Monell v. Department of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)). An official represents government policy if he or she has final policy making authority. See id. Furthermore, [f]inal policy making authority over a particular subject area does not vest in an official whose decisions in the area are subject to meaningful administrative review. Id. (quoting Scala v. City of Winter Park, 116 F.3d 1396, 1401 (11th Cir.1997)). The opportunity for meaningful review will suffice to divest an official of any policy making authority. See id. at 1276. 97 In response to a post trial motion filed by Sergeant Oladeinde, the district court ordered the City to promote her to the rank of lieutenant based on the jury's implied finding that Chief Deutsch retaliated against her because of her exercise of her right to speak regarding a matter of public concern. We have concluded that Sergeant Oladeinde failed to prove that her speech was protected. Accordingly, Chief Deutsch's refusal to promote her was not in retaliation for the exercise of her First Amendment rights. Thus, even if we assume that the court correctly determined that the City was liable for Chief Deutsch's conduct because he was a policy maker, since the record does not show a violation of 1983 by Chief Deutsch, the court erred in granting injunctive relief to Sergeant Oladeinde. V JUDGMENT FOR DAMAGES AGAINST OLADEINDE 98 In her cross-appeal, Sergeant Oladeinde requests that we reverse the judgment against her in the amount of $2,056. She contends that because the counter-claim against her was founded on a theory of quasi-contract, or breach of implied contract, the district court erred in instructing the jury concerning the crimes of conversion and embezzlement. Sergeant Oladeinde further argues that the City tried to trick the jury into believing that she had in fact been dishonest about the missing money in her drug account by arguing that the polygraph evidence demonstrated that Sergeant Oladeinde had been dishonest. 99 We review de novo the question whether the court's instructions to the jury misstated the law or misled the jury to the prejudice of the objecting party. 9 See Palmer v. Board of Regents, 208 F.3d 969, 973 (11th Cir.2000). In determining whether there was reversible error, we consider the jury instructions as a whole. See Torcise v. Community Bank of Homestead, 116 F.3d 860, 868 (11th Cir.1997). We will not overturn a jury verdict because of an erroneous jury instruction unless there is also a showing of prejudice. Mosher v. Speedstar Division of AMCA Int'l, Inc., 979 F.2d 823, 826 (11th Cir.1992). 100 The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that the court's instruction on embezzlement was prejudicial. In addition to instructing the jury on theories of embezzlement and conversion, the district court instructed the jury on a theory of money had and received. The district court admonished the jury as follows: 101 The City seeks to recover from the plaintiff money which it contends plaintiff Oladeinde received but which rightfully belongs to the City. When a person receives money belonging to another, the law creates an implied promise to repay it. The measure for damages for money had and received is the amount of money belonging to the defendant ... which the defendant counterclaimant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that it was received by Oladeinde and which she was bound to return together with interest.... 102 This instruction captures the essence of the quasi-contract instruction that Sergeant Oladeinde proposed to the court. 10 See Schafer v. Time Inc., 142 F.3d 1361, 1368 (11th Cir.1998) ([T]he trial judge is entitled to wide discretion over the style and wording employed as long as the instructions accurately reflect the law.). The interrogatory to the jury simply asked: Did the City prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Oladeinde owes some amount of money to the City? The jury answered affirmatively. 103 The jury could not have found Sergeant Oladeinde liable to the City unless, at a minimum, it believed that Sergeant Oladeinde was owed money to the City under a quasi-contract theory. The record supports such a finding because Sergeant Oladeinde admitted that she had received the money from the City, that she was responsible for it, and that she could not account for $2,056 of it. The instructions did not allow the jury to find Sergeant Oladeinde liable under a theory that imposed a lesser burden of proof on the City than that she requested. 104 Sergeant Oladeinde did not object to City's argument to the jury regarding the polygraph test. We review, therefore, only for plain error. See Oxford Furniture Cos. v. Drexel Heritage Furnishings, Inc., 984 F.2d 1118, 1128 (11th Cir.1993). In a civil trial, a finding of plain error is seldom justified in reviewing counsel's arguments. See id. The district court did not commit plain error because the jury could have found Sergeant Oladeinde liable to the City for $2,056 without also concluding that Sergeant Oladeinde was dishonest in failing to return the money to the City. VI