Government,
Constitutional Law,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Jul. 10, 2025
9th Circuit: Private racist texts don't pass 'public concern' test
The case raised questions about whether a public employee in the former chief's situation could justifiably mount a constitutional challenge to an adverse job action.
After a police chief in a small Northern California town was forced to resign when long-ago text messages with racist content came to light, she sued, claiming officials conspired to retaliate against her and violated her First Amendment rights.
The former chief's claim failed when a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 against her last fall, despite a lengthy dissent and protests from free speech advocates filing as friends of the court. On Wednesday, the court a...
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