Section 1983 retaliation claims give rise to an ongoing stream of important, difficult issues. The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved one of them. On April 26, 2016, the court in Heffernan v. City of Paterson1 held that a police officer who was demoted because his superiors mistakenly believed he had engaged in political association was entitled to assert a §1983 First Amendment retaliation claim. The officer’s claim was allowed to go forward even though he had not in fact engaged in any First Amendment activity.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the opinion for the court, joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. The late Justice Antonin Scalia participated in the oral argument, but died before the court issued its decision. His questioning at the oral argument supported the dissent’s view that an employee who does not engage in First Amendment activity cannot assert a First Amendment retaliation claim.
Facts and Law
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
