Opinion ID: 608078
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Pickering Scale

Text: 36 As the content of O'Connor's allegations was of inherent public concern for First Amendment purposes, we proceed to the second test. Under Pickering, we are required to balance the significance of the interests served by the public-employee speech--including the employee's interests in communicating, and the interests of the community in receiving, information on matters of public importance--against the governmental employer's legitimate interests in preventing unnecessary disruptions and inefficiencies in carrying out its public service mission. 391 U.S. at 568-575, 88 S.Ct. at 1734-38. 37 We note at the outset that O'Connor's motives for speaking out are properly weighed in the balance under Pickering. See, e.g., Versarge v. Township of Clinton, 984 F.2d 1359, 1366 (3d Cir.1993) (according little weight, under Pickering, to plaintiff's vengeful and obstructionist interests in speaking out on issue of public concern). Thus, insofar as self-interest is found to have motivated public-employee speech, the employee's expression is entitled to less weight in the Pickering balance than speech on matters of public concern intended to serve the public interest. Id. Furthermore, we agree with the district court that O'Connor's motives, prominently including the evident self-interest in preserving his position as Superintendent, were less than altruistic. 38 Nevertheless, the legitimate interest of the Town's electorate in the type of information disclosed by O'Connor represents a public benefit entitled to great weight in the Pickering balance. Id. (citing O'Donnell v. Yanchulis, 875 F.2d 1059, 1061 (3d Cir.1989)) (On plaintiff's side of the balance, we must also consider the interests of the public in plaintiff's speech). O'Connor's disclosures concerned alleged abuse of public office on the part of an elected official, a matter traditionally occupying the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values. Connick, 461 U.S. at 145, 103 S.Ct. at 1689. 7 The strong public interest in such disclosures supplements O'Connor's relatively slight personal interest in speaking out, heavily weighting the Pickering scale in favor of First Amendment protection against retaliation for O'Connor's speech. 8 39 On the other side of the Pickering scale, the Town has yet to demonstrate its legitimate interest, as employer, in curtailing the specific disclosures which O'Connor alleges were the basis for his termination. Although the Town has shown considerable disruption in the Department operations, and serious deterioration in the working relations between O'Connor and Steeves, and their respective factions, it has not yet met its burden of showing that the disruption was attributable to the exercise of O'Connor's First Amendment right to speak out on this subject, so as to warrant discharging him on speech-related grounds. On the contrary, the disruption which occurred in Department operations may as readily be attributed to unrelated factors: for example, to Steeves' allegedly unauthorized interference in the Department operations. See, e.g., Zamboni, 847 F.2d at 79 (in evaluating the disruption, if any, that resulted from [plaintiff's] criticisms ... the district court must consider whether any unrest was caused directly by [the plaintiff's] speech or whether it was exacerbated by defendants' actions). Notwithstanding O'Connor's status as a policymaking or confidential employee, see Kinsey v. Salado Indep. Sch. Dist., 950 F.2d 988, 995 (5th Cir.1992), whose position required close working relations with the Board of Selectmen, including Steeves, we cannot assume, absent some showing by defendants, that the erosion of their working relationship was due to O'Connor's protected speech. See Brasslett, 761 F.2d at 845-46 (defendants must show that ... [plaintiff's] allegedly protected activity had a detrimental impact on working relationships) (emphasis added); see also Versarge, 984 F.2d at 1367-68 (declining to consider disruptive effects of speech that was not alleged by defendants as grounds for plaintiff's expulsion). 40 One final point warrants mention. As the district court properly noted, O'Connor failed on several occasions to publicize his allegations of Steeves' misconduct directly to the community; instead, he chose to direct his disclosures to the Board of Selectmen. 9 Nevertheless, the decision to disclose his allegations to the Board, rather than the community at large, did not eliminate O'Connor's First Amendment interest in speaking out. See, e.g., Givhan v. Western Line Consol. Sch. Dist., 439 U.S. 410, 415-16, 99 S.Ct. 693, 696-97, 58 L.Ed.2d 619 (1979) (employee retains personal First Amendment right to comment on issues of public concern, even if comments are made in private; [n]either the Amendment itself nor our decisions indicate that [the right to speak out is] lost to the public employee who arranges to communicate privately with his employer rather than to spread his views before the public); see also Rankin, 483 U.S. at 378, 107 S.Ct. at 2891 (private comment to co-worker held protected under Pickering balance). Moreover, in addition to controlling O'Connor's employment, the Board of Selectmen is the Town's highest elective body, with representative responsibility for acting in the best interests of the Town and its citizenry. Hence, O'Connor's decision to address the Board, rather than the community at large, was no mere private communication, nor did it in any sense extinguish the inherent public interest in his disclosures of Steeves' alleged misconduct. 10 Everything considered, and viewing the record in the light most favorable to O'Connor, we are unable to conclude that the Town's interest in suppressing O'Connor's speech outweighed the importance of the legitimate public interest in O'Connor's disclosures. 11 5. Causation 41 The Town may have reserved its strongest defense for the next round. On the record before us, O'Connor would have grave difficulty demonstrating that the protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor in his discharge by the Town. Mt. Healthy, 429 U.S. at 274, 97 S.Ct. at 568. 12 O'Connor's alleged lack of qualifications for the Superintendent's position, combined with the public concern over the Town water crisis, may well have provided neutral, non-speech related reasons for Edwards' and Steeves' votes against O'Connor's retention. Unless O'Connor can present evidence demonstrating that the discharge was motivated by his protected speech, the Town may yet be entitled to judgment under the Mt. Healthy test. We are not in a position to make this determination, however, as the Town assumed, for summary judgment purposes, a causal link between the protected speech and O'Connor's subsequent discharge. III