Opinion ID: 1383139
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Monahan's Hearing

Text: The superintendent of schools, W.R. Skelton, made it clear in his testimony that a meeting of the school board was held March 6, 1969 and that it was apparent Monahan would not be offered a contract. He told the board he would so inform Monahan and this he did. Then, according to the superintendent, at a meeting on March 13, the board voted to terminate Monahan; and on March 15 Skelton handed Monahan a Notice of Termination. On March 19, 1969, Monahan, through his attorney, requested a hearing. Although such a hearing was conducted April 10, 1969, it is clear from the record as a whole, from the statement of counsel at the hearing, and even from the admission of appellee's attorney in oral argument to us that Monahan did not have a bona fide hearing to determine whether there was just cause for his termination. Instead, the hearing was nothing more than an exercise engaged in for the sole purpose of making a record which could make legal and justifiable the decision which the board had already made prior to the hearing. In oral argument before us, counsel for appellee explained that he and a former attorney for the school board, W.J. Nicholas, had proceeded with the hearing only because they might not be sustained on their theory that Monahan did not have tenure. He argued (arguendo) that even if Monahan is held to have tenure, he nevertheless had a fair and impartial hearing and there was substantial evidence to justify the termination. The real and sole purpose of the hearing was made even more clear by a statement of Mr. Nicholas, at the time of the hearing. We can assume he was speaking for the board when he stated: I am sure that your feelings that you just expressed in the last remarks are 100% the feelings of myself, of the entire board, and nobody deplores the statute the way it is and the fact that we are required to conduct a proceeding under this particular statute in this particular fashion any more than I do, any more than the board does. But this is the way the statute says it must be done and if it isn't done this way any action the board takes cannot be sustained. We just don't have any alternative. This was set up by the Legislature in 1965, and I know from personal experience there have been several attempts to change this procedure. I personally participated in an attempt to change it in this last Legislature, and we couldn't get it changed. We are just hung by this statute and we have to live by it. I agree I think it is unfair and I don't think it is conducive to coming to justice. But it is the law. If Mr. Nicholas and his former client, the school board, could not bring themselves to an acceptance of what a majority in the legislature had done, they could as individuals hold to their personal views. However, as public officials, they were bound to abide by the provisions of the Wyoming Teachers Employment Act and of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The record discloses that the school board designated its attorney, Mr. Nicholas, to act as presiding officer at the hearing of Mr. Monahan's case. Among other things, it is claimed on behalf of Monahan that he did not have a fair hearing because Nicholas drew up and executed the statement of reasons for termination; acted as prosecutor; acted as the hearing officer; ruled on objections; argued with opposing counsel on opposing counsel's objections; interrogated witnesses; made objections and then made rulings on his own objections; sat with the Board when they made their final decision; made public statements to the patrons in the audience as to the reasons why it was necessary to have the hearing at all; and cross-examined witnesses in behalf of the School Board. We think the record shows at least some merit in Monahan's complaint about hearing procedures and the manner in which it was conducted by Nicholas. Instead of pointing to specific instances, we deem it sufficient to set out what the trial court had to say about this matter. Its statement was this: The Court agrees that a clumsy and irregular procedure was followed by the Board's use of its attorney not only as its presiding officer but also to interrogate witnesses. This put him in the odd position of having to rule on objections to his own questions. The Administrative Procedure Act has adopted many of the techniques of Court procedures. It is not considered good judicial practice for the Court to take over from counsel, the examination of witnesses. An occasional question may be in order. Even in cases where a party insists on appearing pro se the Court cannot take on the burden of that party to establish his own case. It would have been much more orderly to engage someone else to conduct the examination of the Board's witnesses and would have saved this criticizm [sic] being raised.