Court Opinion

ID: 9793291
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:45:47.99502+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:04:17.063843
License: Public Domain

SHEPARD, Justice,
dissenting:
I concur with the dissent of Bakes, J., but find that a facet of the case coloring my decision has not been otherwise discussed. The precipitating cause of plaintiff’s termination was the development of a scheme to raise money utilizing, in part at least, the name of the principal law enforcement agency in Ada County. Principally solicited were to be businesses in the county. The record indicates the sheriff was concerned with the public reaction to and perception of the fund raising scheme. In my view, such solicitations in the name of law enforcement agencies or conducted by law enforcement personnel are undesirable and suspect. In the eyes of many of the public, they smack of overreaching and coercion, and can be the subject of abuse.
I believe the actions of the plaintiff and the defendant cannot be viewed in a vacuum, but rather must be viewed in the context of the fund raising scheme and its ramifications. I would affirm the decision of the district court which found that plaintiff’s actions and participation in the scheme constituted cause for termination.