Opinion ID: 183028
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Under the public employee balancing test, Clairmont has alleged a First Amendment retaliation claim

Text: It is well settled that the state may not abuse its position as employer to stifle `the First Amendment rights [its employees] would otherwise enjoy as citizens to comment on matters of public interest.' Eng v. Cooley, 552 F.3d 1062, 1070 (9th Cir.2009) (quoting Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1047, 175 L.Ed.2d 881 (2010). In applying Pickering's balancing test, we employ a sequential five-step inquiry to determine whether a public employee has alleged a violation of his First Amendment rights as a result of government retaliation for his speech: (1) whether the plaintiff spoke on a matter of public concern; (2) whether the plaintiff spoke as a private citizen or public employee; (3) whether the plaintiff's protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse employment action; (4) whether the state had an adequate justification for treating the employee differently from other members of the general public; and (5) whether the state would have taken the adverse employment action even absent the protected speech. Id. The plaintiff bears the burden of proof on the first three areas of inquiry, but the burden shifts to the government to prove the last two. Id. at 1071. If the plaintiff fails to carry his burden at any step, qualified immunity should be granted to the defendant. Id. at 1070-72. Here, because Clairmont ultimately prevails at all five steps, we conclude that he has alleged sufficient facts to establish that he was terminated in violation of his First Amendment rights. 1. Clairmont's speech was on a matter of public concern We have defined the scope of the public concern element broadly and adopted a liberal construction of what an issue of public concern is under the First Amendment. Desrochers v. City of San Bernardino, 572 F.3d 703, 709-10 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). We have specifically rejected rigid multi-part tests and refused to articulate[] a precise definition of public concern. Id. at 709 (internal quotation marks omitted). Rather, we rely on the framework set forth in Connick v. Myers, which reviews the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record. 461 U.S. 138, 147-48, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983) (emphasis added); Eng, 552 F.3d at 1070. On the basis of this generalized analysis of the nature of the speech, we can place the speech on a continuum ranging from matters of public concern to matters of purely personal concern. See Desrochers, 572 F.3d at 709. On one end, there is speech that relates to matters of concern to the community, including political or social matters. Eng, 552 F.3d at 1070. On the other end, there are individual grievances and personnel disputes that are irrelevant to the public's evaluation of governmental agencies. Id. Clairmont argues that, regardless of the subject matter, truthful testimony given pursuant to a subpoena should be considered per se a matter of public concern. As we detailed in Alpha Energy Savers, our sister circuits are split on whether the context of a courtroom appearance raises a public employee witness's testimony to the level of public concern, regardless of its content. 381 F.3d at 926 n. 6. There, we declined to decide whether a public employee's testimony was inherently a matter of public concern. Id. So too here, we need not decide whether truthful testimony given pursuant to a subpoena is per se a matter of public concern because in this case, the content, form, and context of Clairmont's testimony establish that his speech related to a matter of public concern. First and foremost, we consider the content of the speech the greatest single factor in the Connick inquiry. Desrochers, 572 F.3d at 710 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Speech that deals with the functioning of government is a `matter[ ] of inherent public concern.' Eng, 552 F.3d at 1072 (quoting Johnson v. Multnomah County, 48 F.3d 420, 425 (9th Cir.1995)). In addition, speech that helps the public evaluate the performance of public agencies addresses a matter of public concern. Id. at 1073 (citing Freitag v. Ayers, 468 F.3d 528, 545 (9th Cir.2006)). Thus, for example, speech alleging that the government engaged in discrimination or other civil rights violations is on a matter of public concern. See, e.g., Alpha Energy Savers, 381 F.3d at 925. Finally, speech discussing threats to public safety is of vital interest to citizens, and speech exposing policies that put people in jeopardy is `inherently of interest to the public.' Hyland v. Wonder, 972 F.2d 1129, 1137 (9th Cir. 1992) (quoting Roth v. Veteran's Admin., 856 F.2d 1401, 1406 (9th Cir.1988)). Here, Clairmont's testimony dealt with the performance of an independent Treatment provider who had been treating a criminal defendant as part of a court-ordered program. Clairmont gave expert testimony regarding how he would have dealt with a hypothetical Treatment client who had engaged in the type of conduct the defendant allegedly committed. Clairmont's testimony thus dealt with the ways in which Treatment programs treat charged and convicted domestic violence offenders, which ultimately implicates the Municipal Court's attempts through the Probation Unit to protect victims of domestic violenceunquestionably a matter of public concern. See Hyland, 972 F.2d at 1137; cf. Jones v. Union County, 296 F.3d 417, 426 (6th Cir.2002) (stating that [T]here is no question that combating domestic violence is a matter of public concern); Rendish v. City of Tacoma, 123 F.3d 1216, 1224 (9th Cir.1997) (A municipal court judge's allegedly inappropriate remarks made in domestic violence cases implicate the public's interest in the impartial administration of the courts.). Moreover, it is irrelevant to our analysis whether Clairmont's testimony influenced the judge's ultimate determination regarding revocation. Robinson v. York, 566 F.3d 817, 823 (9th Cir.2009), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1047, 175 L.Ed.2d 881 (2010). Testimony that addresses a matter of public concern need not have an effect on the result of the litigation, it need only contribute in some way to the resolution of a proceeding in which a matter of public concern is at issue. Id. The form that the speech in question takes is another factor relevant to whether speech addressed a matter of public concern. Desrochers, 572 F.3d at 714-15, 715 n. 17. Although not dispositive, a small or limited audience `weigh[s] against [a] claim of protected speech.' Desrochers, 572 F.3d at 714 (alteration in original) (quoting Roe v. City of San Francisco, 109 F.3d 578, 585 (9th Cir.1997)); see also Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 420, 126 S.Ct. 1951, 164 L.Ed.2d 689 (2006). For example, when speech takes the form of an internal employee grievance, and is not presented to the public, the form cuts against a finding of public concern. Desrochers, 572 F.3d at 715. Here, the form of Clairmont's speech was subpoenaed testimony, which was presented in a public courtroom. Thus, the form of Clairmont's speech supports a determination that the speech was on a matter of public concern. Finally, we consider the context of Clairmont's testimony and examine the point of his speech. Id. When a public employee's contested speech occurs in the context of an internal power struggle or personal employment grievance, this will militate against a finding of public concern. Id. Sworn courtroom testimony, however, will constitute speech on a matter of public concern when it bring[s] to light potential or actual discrimination, corruption, or other wrongful conduct by government agencies or officials. Alpha Energy Savers, 381 F.3d at 925 (citing Lytle v. Wondrash, 182 F.3d 1083, 1087-88 (9th Cir.1999); Rendish, 123 F.3d at 1223-24). Indeed, in Alpha Energy Savers, we held that a public employee's testimony on behalf of a co-worker's private grievance against his union was on a matter of public concern when he alleged that the union breached its duty of fair representation by failing to investigate and pursue a grievance against the county for employment discrimination on the basis of race and age. Id. We concluded that, irrespective of the motivation behind the speech in question, [s]o long as either the public employee's testimony or the underlying lawsuit meets the public concern test, the employee may, in accord with Connick, be afforded constitutional protection against any retaliation that results. Alpha Energy Savers, 381 F.3d at 927. Here, the speech at issue was Clairmont's expert testimony at a criminal defendant's revocation hearing. His testimony was offered to help the judge decide whether to allow the defendant to continue his Treatment. Moreover, Clairmont spoke not because he volunteered to do so, but because he was subpoenaed. There is no record evidence that Clairmont was motivated by anything other than a desire to comply with the subpoena and to testify truthfully as required by law. In sum, we conclude that the content, form, and context of Clairmont's testimony demonstrate that his speech was on a matter of public concern. We thus proceed to step two. 2. Clairmont's testimony was not part of his official duties A public employee's speech is not protected by the First Amendment when it is part of the employee's official job duties. Garcetti, 547 U.S. at 426, 126 S.Ct. 1951. Whether an employee's disputed speech is part of his official duties presents a mixed question of fact and law. Posey v. Lake Pend Oreille Sch. Dist. No. 84, 546 F.3d 1121, 1129 (9th Cir.2008). For purposes of considering Wilson's claim to qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage, we resolve any material factual disputes in Clairmont's favor. Huppert v. City of Pittsburg, 574 F.3d 696, 701 (9th Cir.2009). Here, SMH did not ask Clairmont to testify; he testified because he was subpoenaed by a third party. Moreover, the only evidence in the record regarding Clairmont's official job duties is Clairmont's Job Description attached to Wilson's motion for summary judgment. [6] Clairmont's job description did not include testifying as an expert witness in court proceedings. Indeed, there is nothing in the job description about testifying at all, even on behalf of his own clients. Wilson argues that it is not unusual for a domestic violence counselor to testify at a court hearing and supports her argument by referring to another domestic violence counselor who testified at the same hearing as Clairmont. As Clairmont points out, the fact that other domestic violence counselors from different organizations might testify at court hearings is irrelevant to whether his official job duties required him to testify at such hearings. In addition, the other counselor stated that he testified only because he was ordered to do so by the judge. Finally, Wilson admits in her summary judgment declaration that [the probation unit counselor] found it unusual that Clairmont was testifying in [a] hearing that did not involve a person he was treating. Wilson also argues that Clairmont nonetheless testified as part of his official duties because the content of Clairmont's testimony regarding his treatment philosophy described the nature of his duties as a contract counselor for SMH. In Garcetti, however, the Supreme Court held that even if the content of an employee's speech concerned the subject matter of his employment, this fact was not dispositive of the employee's First Amendment retaliation claim. 547 U.S. at 421, 126 S.Ct. 1951. As the Court noted in Pickering: `Teachers are, as a class, the members of a community most likely to have informed and definite opinions as to how funds allotted to the operation of the schools should be spent. Accordingly, it is essential that they be able to speak out freely on such questions without fear of retaliatory dismissal.' Id. (quoting Pickering, 391 U.S. at 572, 88 S.Ct. 1731); see also Eng, 552 F.3d at 1073 (holding that Eng's version of the facts plausibly showed that he spoke as a private citizen because, although he learned about the subject matter of his speech in the course of his work, he had no official duty to complain about it to the relevant agency); cf. Huppert, 574 F.3d at 707-08 (granting qualified immunity because testifying in court is part of a California police officer's official duties). Although Clairmont testified about treating a hypothetical Treatment client, there is no evidence that testifying in court, whether or not as an expert, was a part of his official duties at SMH. When viewed in the light most favorable to Clairmont, Huppert, 574 F.3d at 701, the record evidence supports a finding that Clairmont was not testifying as part of his official duties. We therefore continue to step three of the analysis. 3. Clairmont's testimony was a substantial or motivating factor in his termination The third inquirywhether Clairmont's testimony was a substantial or motivating factor in his terminationis purely a question of fact.... [W]e must assume the truth of the plaintiff's allegations. Eng, 552 F.3d at 1071. The parties dispute whether Clairmont was fired as a result of Wilson's comments to Clairmont's SMH supervisors about his testimony, or whether his termination resulted from complaints about Clairmont's performance made by Wilson long before Clairmont testified. Several emails in the record that, viewed in the light most favorable to Clairmont, Huppert, 574 F.3d at 701, reasonably could support a finding that Clairmont was fired because of Wilson's comments to his supervisor about Clairmont's subpoenaed testimony. We therefore proceed to step four.