Garcetti v. Ceballos

In Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006) 547 U.S. 410, a deputy district attorney claimed his employer retaliated against him for writing a memo questioning the veracity of an affidavit used to support a search warrant and recommending dismissal of the related criminal case. (Id. at pp. 414-415.) Among its defenses, his employer claimed the memo was not protected speech under the First Amendment because the attorney wrote it as part of his employment duties. (547 U.S. at p. 415.) The United States Supreme Court agreed. (Id. at pp. 421-422.) The Court explained the dilemma in public employee free speech cases is balancing the interests of a public employee as a citizen to comment on matters of public concern against the interests of a public employer " 'in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.'" (Garcetti, supra, 547 U.S. at p. 417.) Accordingly, two inquiries "guide interpretation of the constitutional protections accorded to public employee speech. The first requires determining whether the employee spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern. If the answer is no, the employee has no First Amendment cause of action based on his or her employer's reaction to the speech." (Id. at p. 418.) If the answer is yes, then "the question becomes whether the relevant government entity had an adequate justification for treating the employee differently from any other member of the general public." (Ibid.) Applying this analytical framework, the Supreme Court noted the deputy district attorney wrote the memo as part of his regular job duties and "spoke as a prosecutor fulfilling a responsibility to advise his supervisor about how best to proceed with a pending case." (Garcetti, supra, 547 U.S. at p. 421.) The court reasoned, "restricting speech that owes its existence to a public employee's professional responsibilities does not infringe any liberties the employee might have enjoyed as a private citizen. It simply reflects the exercise of employer control over what the employer itself has commissioned or created." (Id. at pp. 421-422.) Consequently, the court held "when public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline." (Id. at p. 421.) The issue in the case was "whether the First Amendment protects a government employee from discipline based on speech made pursuant to the employee's official duties." (Id. at p. 413.) The United Supreme Court held, "When public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, they are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline." (Id. at p. 421.) In so holding, the Court stated that employers must be given "sufficient discretion to manage their operations. Employers have heightened interests in controlling speech made by an employee in his or her professional capacity. Official communications have official consequences, creating a need for substantive consistency and clarity. Supervisors must ensure that their employees' official communications are accurate, demonstrate sound judgment, and promote the employer's mission." (Id. at pp. 422-423.)