Opinion ID: 154168
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First Amendment Protection of Gardetto's Expression

Text: 30 Mason and EWC urge the court to affirm the judgment of the district court regardless of any error in the jury instructions because none of Gardetto's speech was protected by the First Amendment as a matter of law. Thus, the defendants argue that the case should never have been submitted to the jury. We consider this argument on appeal because application of the Pickering balancing test is a question of law, properly reviewable de novo by this court. Koch v. City of Hutchinson, 847 F.2d 1436, 1441 n.14 (10th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 909 (1988); Melton, 879 F.2d at 713. Moreover, we may affirm the decision of the district court on any basis revealed by the record. Koch, 847 F.2d at 1441 n.14 (citations omitted).
31 The threshold question in assessing the free speech claim of a discharged, demoted, or suspended government employee is whether the employee has spoken as a citizen upon matters of public concern or merely as an employee upon matters only of personal interest. Connick, 461 U.S. at 147. Speech regarding matters of mere personal interest are not subject to protection under the First Amendment. Thus, where an employee's speech cannot be characterized as speech on a matter of public concern, it is unnecessary for the court to examine the reasons for her discharge, demotion, or suspension. Id. at 146. In making this determination, we must consider the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record. Id. at 147-48. Matters of public concern are those which can be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community. Id. at 146. While speech pertaining to internal personnel disputes and working conditions ordinarily will not involve public concern, id. at 148, [s]peech that seeks to expose improper operations of the government or questions the integrity of governmental officials clearly concerns vital public interests. Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 796 (10th Cir. 1988). 32 In deciding how to classify particular speech, courts focus on the motive of the speaker and attempt to determine whether the speech was calculated to redress personal grievances or whether it had a broader public purpose. Id. That is, we must evaluate whether Gardetto spoke out based on the same motivation that would move the public to speak out. Applying these standards to each of the six incidents of speech at issue in this case, we hold that all but two (Gardetto's criticism of McBroom's termination and Gardetto's conversation with Gonzales) involve matters of public concern. 33 The speech incident that most obviously involves a matter of public concern is Gardetto's public support of the three non-incumbent candidates for positions on EWC's board of trustees. One of the primary functions of a college's board of trustees is to determine the extent and type of educational services available to the public; the board is not a committee charged merely with the administration of internal affairs. Moreover, the advocacy of a particular candidate for public office is the type of core political speech the First Amendment was designed to protect. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 14-15 (1976) ([I]t can hardly be doubted that the constitutional guarantee has its fullest and most urgent application precisely to the conduct of campaigns for political office.). In the spectrum of expression protected by the First Amendment, we place great value upon political speech in the electoral process. See Kinsey v. Salado Indep. Sch. Dist., 950 F.2d 988, 995 (5th Cir.) (holding that when a superintendent who opposed the winning slate in a school board election was terminated, his speech and association involved matters of great public concern--the performance of elected officials), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 941 (1992). Thus, we hold that Gardetto's endorsement of the three insurgent candidates for the college's board positions involves speech on a matter of public concern. 34 Similarly, we hold that Gardetto's statements criticizing Mason for holding himself out as a doctor when he did not have a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree involves speech on a matter of public concern. The integrity, qualifications, and misrepresentations of a highly visible public official, such as the president of a college, obviously impact the social and political life of a community. See Patrick v. Miller, 953 F.2d 1240, 1246-47 (10th Cir. 1992) (holding that a city finance director's allegations of discriminatory employment practices in support of black females and perceived illegal budgeting activities were matters of public concern); Conaway, 853 F.2d at 796-97 (holding that a city electrical inspector's comments complaining of work performed for city officials and their friends on city time, illegal payoffs, and incidents of released substandard electrical work constituted expression on matters of public concern); Wren v. Spurlock, 798 F.2d 1313, 1316-18 (10th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1085 (1987) (holding that a teacher's accusations of sexual harassment and poor job performance by a principal involved matters of public concern). 35 By the same token, Gardetto's efforts to obtain a vote of no confidence in Mason from a local faculty association also pertain to a matter of public concern. In so holding, we rely on the Supreme Court's decision in Connick. In that case, the plaintiff was an assistant district attorney who had opposed her transfer to a different section of the criminal court. Connick, 461 U.S. at 140. The night that her transfer was finalized, she prepared a questionnaire soliciting the views of her fellow staff members concerning the office transfer policy, office morale, the need for a grievance committee, and the level of confidence in her supervisors. Id. at 141. In holding that none of these topics addressed matters of public concern, the Court emphasized that the questions, including her attempt to get a vote of no confidence in her supervisors, were simply mere extensions of [her] dispute over her transfer. Id. at 148, 152. The Court stressed that the attorney was not seeking to inform the public that her superiors were not discharging their governmental responsibilities; nor was she seeking to bring to light actual or potential wrongdoing. Id. In contrast to the plaintiff in Connick, Gardetto was legitimately concerned with Mason's job performance and his wrongdoing. As the district court pointed out in its order denying summary judgment, Gardetto's expression to the association implicated broader concerns about Mason's possible misrepresentation of his educational status, his lack of integrity and leadership, and the corresponding decline in student enrollment at EWC. Gardetto, 854 F. Supp. at 1537. The performance and integrity of a highly visible public official, such as Mason, are unquestionably issues affecting the social and political concerns of a community. Thus, we hold that Gardetto's advocacy to obtain a vote of no confidence in Mason from a local faculty association is a matter of public concern. 36 We are presented with a closer question as to whether the remaining three incidents of expression constitute matters of public concern. Gardetto's general criticisms of Mason's reduction-in-force plan, her opposition to the elimination of McBroom's position at the ARC, and her private statements to Gonzales all touch on the applications and consequences of EWC's reduction-in-force plan. Gardetto's motivation in making these statements consisted, in part, of her concern about the deterioration of various public services provided to adults by the college. Her expression, however, was also motivated by her personal interest in maintaining her position and responsibility at the ARC. 37 The objectives, purposes, and mission of a public university are undoubtedly matters of public concern. Moreover, in general, speech about the use of public funds touches upon a matter of public concern. Kincade v. City of Blue Springs, 64 F.3d 389, 396 (8th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 1565 (1996). Thus, the dismissal of a high school teacher for criticizing a board of education's allocation of school funds between athletics and education violates the First Amendment. Pickering, 391 U.S. at 571-72. Similarly, complaints about the proposed closing of a branch of a university or its spending priorities, when these decisions affect the basic functions and missions of the university, also constitute speech on matters of public concern. See Kurtz v. Vickrey, 855 F.2d 723, 730 (11th Cir. 1988). In contrast, the First Amendment protects neither public employee criticisms of internal management decisions, Kurtz, 855 F.2d at 730, nor public employee complaints about the structure of purely internal administrative bodies. Bunger v. University of Okla. Bd. of Regents, 95 F.3d 987, 992 (10th Cir. 1996). Likewise, the details of internal budgetary allocations at an institution of public education are not matters of public concern. Management practices or decisions allocating management responsibility to particular individuals also do not involve matters of public concern. 38 With these parameters in mind, we turn to the three remaining incidents of expression at issue in this case. We hold that Gardetto's specific criticism of EWC's reduction-in-force plan to the board of trustees is a matter of public concern. Gardetto was one of a handful of other faculty members who expressed concern about the lack of objectivity in the proposed RIF procedures in a public forum convened primarily to consider those procedures. She also made her criticisms nearly a month before she learned that her office would be affected by the RIF through the elimination of McBroom's position. Thus, although Gardetto could have been motivated partially by her desire to keep her job or her staff, the record reveals she was primarily motivated by a desire that a reduction-in-force be conducted only if necessary and using objective criteria. 39 Although the timing of a reduction-in-force and the particular reductions that result are matters of internal administration, the necessity of implementing a reduction-in-force and the fear of overly subjective reduction-in-force procedures are matters of legitimate public concern under the facts of this case. The speech of persons able to offer a well-informed perspective on expenditures of public funds may be especially valuable to public debate on such subjects. See Pickering, 391 U.S. at 572 (noting that teachers will most likely have informed and definite opinions on how a school's funds should be spent). Given that Gardetto previously served on a committee responsible for determining the college's reduction-in-force procedures and that she and other faculty members made their statements at a board of trustees meeting open to the public, the content, form, and context of Gardetto's speech indicates that her expression constitutes a matter of public concern. 40 In contrast, the decision to terminate McBroom and eliminate her position constitute a matter of internal administration and not a matter of public concern. While the college's general reduction-in-force procedures are a matter of public concern, Gardetto's criticism of EWC's specific application of those procedures to her own staff hardly affects the social or political life of the community. Gardetto, in opposing this decision, was primarily motivated by her personal interest in maintaining her staff at the ARC and her relationship with McBroom. In essence, Gardetto's grievances involved only matters of internal departmental affairs and personal interest, and thus [her] expression . . . was not protected by the First Amendment. Hom v. Squire, 81 F.3d 969, 974 (10th Cir. 1996). 41 Subsequent media coverage of the McBroom episode does not change our analysis. The controversial character of a statement is irrelevant to the question [of] whether it deals with a matter of public concern, Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378, 387 (1987), because the focus is on the motive of the speaker. McEvoy v. Shoemaker, 882 F.2d 463, 466 (10th Cir. 1989). Moreover, the record indicates that newspaper and radio coverage began only when McBroom was rehired and placed in a grant-funded position. The press was concerned about why the college now had the money to fund McBroom's position when EWC did not have the money two months before. In Gardetto's First Amendment claim, however, her speech centers on the college's initial decision to terminate McBroom, a decision which received little, if any, publicity. Thus, we hold that Gardetto's opposition to the termination of McBroom and the elimination of her position does not involve a matter of pubic concern. To hold otherwise would transform the federal courts into a roundtable for employee complaints over internal office affairs. Connick, 461 U.S. at 149. 42 Lastly, we hold that Gardetto's private expression to Gonzales is not a matter of public concern. We note that private communications on matters of public interest are entitled to First Amendment protection; an employee need not remonstrate publicly to bring his comments under the aegis of the First Amendment. Conaway, 853 F.2d at 797. See also Givhan v. Western Line Consol. Sch. Dist., 439 U.S. 410, 414-16 (1979) (teacher's criticisms of school policies voiced privately to principal are protected by First Amendment); Rankin, 483 U.S. at 389-92 (county clerical employee's private comments to a co-worker are protected by First Amendment). Private communications are often the most effective way to bring about policy changes and the least disruptive to the delivery of government services. Therefore, the fact that Gardetto's statements to Gonzales were private does not necessarily deprive them of their protected status. Nevertheless, the content of Gardetto's expression does not involve a matter of public concern. Although the details about the content of their conversation is not clear, the record indicates that Gardetto merely shared some strategies to increase adult and minority enrollment. Gardetto's discussion of these techniques with Gonzales clearly does not implicate the political or social concerns of the community. Thus, we hold that Gardetto's statements about EWC's methods used to increase adult and minority enrollment does not constitute a matter of public concern. 43 Contrary to Gardetto's assertions on appeal, Gardetto nowhere testified that she voiced her disagreement with the college's plans to reorganize the ARC to Gonzales. Regardless, such a criticism would not involve a matter of public concern. While the allocation of school funds in a manner that impacts the ultimate mission and purpose of a university constitutes a matter of public concern, see Pickering, 391 U.S at 571-72, EWC's decision to reorganize the ARC is an internal budgetary decision that does not affect the primary mission of the college. Moreover, in criticizing the effective dismantling of the ARC, Gardetto was likely motivated by her personal interest in maintaining a need for her services at the college rather than any interest that EWC may have in attracting and supporting adult students. Thus, we hold that Gardetto's statements criticizing the reorganization of the ARC, if any, would not involve matters of public concern. 44 In sum, we hold that four of the speech incidents at issue in this case involve matters of public concern. We therefore proceed to the second step of the Pickering/Connick analysis on these remaining speech incidents.
45 Once a court determines that the plaintiff's speech involves a matter of public concern, the Pickering balancing test requires a court to weigh the interest of a public employee in commenting on such matters [against] the interest of the employer in promoting the efficiency of its services. Ware v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 492, 881 F.2d 906, 910 (10th Cir. 1989), modified in part, 902 F.2d 815 (1990). In performing this balancing, the court should not consider the statement in a vacuum; the manner, time, and place of the employee's expression are relevant, as well as the context in which the statement arose. Connick, 461 U.S. at 152-53. 46 Under the Pickering balancing test, the employee's First Amendment free speech rights are protected `unless the employer shows that some restriction is necessary to prevent the disruption of official functions or to insure effective performance by the employee.' Wren, 798 F.2d at 1318 (quoting Childers v. Independent Sch. Dist. No. 1, 676 F.2d 1338, 1341 (10th Cir. 1982)). Relevant considerations include whether the statement impairs discipline by superiors or harmony among co-workers, has a detrimental impact on close working relationships for which personal loyalty and confidence are necessary, or impedes the performance of the speaker's duties or interferes with the regular operation of the enterprise. Rankin, 483 U.S. at 388. The government, however, cannot rely on purely speculative allegations that certain statements caused or will cause disruption to justify the regulation of employee speech. Wulf v. City of Wichita, 883 F.2d 842, 862 (10th Cir. 1989). Furthermore, the government's concerns about the impact of speech must be reasonable and formed in good faith. Waters v. Churchill, 114 S. Ct. 1878, 1889 (1994). 47 A careful review of the record indicates that the defendants failed to introduce any evidence of actual disruption to EWC's services arising from the remaining four speech incidents at issue in this case. Mason testified at trial that he did not suspend or demote Gardetto because of any actual or perceived worry about disruption caused by her speech. Under these circumstances, we have difficulty giving credence to the defendants' argument on appeal that Gardetto's speech was so disruptive that it justified her termination. Ware, 881 F.2d at 910; see also Rankin, 483 U.S. 389 (noting that when the defendant testified that the possibility of interference with the functions of the Constable's office had not been a consideration in his discharge of [the plaintiff], the plaintiff's speech was not so disruptive as to be unprotected). Although the defendants presented a great deal of evidence relating to episodes of rude and inappropriate conduct that may have interfered with the efficiency of EWC's operations, none of the episodes involved the four remaining speech incidents at issue in this case. 2 Thus, under the Pickering/Connick analysis, we conclude that these speech incidents are protected by the First Amendment.