This morning the Supreme Court handed down Garcetti v. Ceballos, a case about public employee speech rights for matters within their official duities. The decision was 5-4, with Justice Kennedy writing for the majority joined by Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia. Marty is the first out of the gate with substantive comments.
Trivia question for 1st Amendment buffs: Before today, had Justice Kennedy ever written a 5-4 majority opinion in a free speech case that rejected a claim to First Amendment protection?
UPDATE: More on the case from Jack Balkin.
Turner Broadcasting I and II come to mind . . .
I had also thought of Ward v. Rock Against Racism and AETC v. Forbes — but they were both 6-3, no?
I find it ironic that parallels are being drawn to wistleblowers. The respondent’s concerns were rejected by the trial court (involving the origi nal warrant). This is no insignificant fact; it suggests that the respondent’s conduct reflected a deficient performance of his duties which his employer ought to have every right to consider prejudicially.