New Jersey police, first amendment employment case

police first amendment caseA police officer in New Jersey is suing over first amendment violation allegations, saying he was a victim of political retribution.

Jeffrey Heffernan, the plaintiff, alleges that his right to free speech was violated in 2005 when he was demoted after being mistakenly identified as backing a challenger in a mayoral race. He wasn’t supporting the candidate, but was sited picking up a campaign sign at the request of his mother.

Heffernan initially was awarded 105,000 in damages, but the judge then recused himself due to a conflict of interest and threw out the damages award. The new judge dismissed the case.

Lower courts ruled that because he was not taking a side in the election, that his constitutional rights were not violated. He could sue if he had been demoted for actually supporting a rival political figure, but since he wasn’t actually supporting the candidate, the court is deciding what to do in the case of mistaken political activity.

Justice Antonin Scalia said “There’s no constitutional right not to be fired for the wrong reason.” Heffernan’s attorney, Mark Frost explained that the plaintiff’s superiors demoted him trying to suppress his free speech, and the fact that Heffernan wasn’t campaigning doesn’t matter since the action to demote him was motivated by the assumption that he was campaigning.

Chief Justice John Roberts suggested Heffernan could seek damages under state law or collective bargaining protections.

J.R. Randall

J.R. Randall is an economist who resides in the Bay Area. He focuses his interest on range of economic topics. He has interest in deep sea fishing and art.