Garcetti v. Ceballos

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Garcetti v. Ceballos
Court Supreme Court of the United States
Citation
Date decided May 30, 2006

Facts

Ceballos was a Los Angeles deputy DA (district attorney). He learned that an affidavit for a search warrant contained inaccuracies. Next, he wrote a memo recommending dismissal of the case. The supervisors of Ceballos ignored his recommendation.

Afterwards, the defense counsel called on Ceballos to testify concerning his observations for the search warrant.

Procedural History

Ceballos filed a grievance stating that his candid testimony in the case resulted in his being passed up for a promotion. Investigators claimed that there was no retaliation against Ceballos.

Ceballos files a lawsuit against LA DA Garcetti in federal court. There, Ceballos loses.

Holding

SCOTUS holds that the First Amendment doesn't protect a public employee from the consequences of the employer's displeasure.

Rule

A public employee doesn't sacrifice freedom of expression as a condition of employment. Nonetheless, freedom of expression may be limited for expressions made in the course of the aforesaid employment.

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