Hyland v. Wonder
| Decision Date | 21 August 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-16796,90-16796 |
| Citation | 972 F.2d 1129 |
| Parties | Lanric HYLAND, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Roy L. WONDER, Supervising Judge, Juvenile Court, individually and in his official capacity, et alia; Superior Court for the City and County of San Francisco; Dennis Sweeney; Fred Jordan; San Francisco Juvenile Probation Commission; Diane LaPlante; City and County of San Francisco, Defendants-Appellees, and Stephen La Plante, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Raymond D. Battocchi, McLean, Va., for plaintiff-appellant.
Sharon S. Chandler, Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees.
Vicki A. Clayton, Deputy City Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before TANG, PREGERSON and BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judges.
Lanric Hyland worked for a lengthy period of time as a volunteer for the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department. In February 1989, Hyland prepared a memorandum to the judges supervising the San Francisco Juvenile Hall that detailed numerous problems at the Hall and the failings of its director. Hyland's supervisor terminated Hyland's volunteer status and privileges immediately upon learning of the memorandum's existence. Hyland filed suit alleging that his termination constituted impermissible retaliation for protected speech in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution. The district court dismissed Hyland's complaint for failure to state a claim. Hyland appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
The following facts are based on the allegations contained in Hyland's First Amended Complaint. Lanric Hyland was convicted of armed robbery in 1964. Since his release from prison, Hyland has concentrated his energies on developing an expertise in the administration of criminal justice. Hyland aspired to become a deputy chief probation officer in the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department ("JPD"), a position for which he could qualify only after receiving a pardon from the Governor of California.
In May 1987, Hyland commenced work as an assistant to Dennis Sweeney, the Chief Probation Officer of the JPD. From October to December 1987, Hyland was paid for his work by the Youth Guidance Center Improvement Committee. From January through June 1988, Hyland received compensation as a non-civil service employee of the City and County of San Francisco. At all remaining times, Hyland served in the JPD as a volunteer. Hyland alleges that, at the beginning of his service, Sweeney both agreed to exert his best efforts to uncover additional sources of compensation for Hyland and promised that Hyland's volunteer status was to continue until he received a pardon.
In June 1988, Stephen La Plante became the Director of Juvenile Hall. Sweeney had actively promoted La Plante for this position. Conditions at Juvenile Hall deteriorated rapidly under La Plante's supervision. The first nine months of La Plante's tenure saw twenty-seven escapes from Juvenile Hall. Assaults on the staff also increased. Meanwhile, the California Youth Authority threatened to sue the JPD if conditions did not improve. La Plante's allegedly unsatisfactory service as Director was a frequent topic of communication between Hyland and Sweeney in late 1988. In January 1989, Hyland assisted Sweeney in the preparation of a highly critical evaluation of La Plante.
In February 1989, frustrated by the lack of change at Juvenile Hall, Hyland drafted a memorandum to Judge Daniel Hanlon, the presiding judge of the Superior Court in San Francisco, Judge Roy Wonder, supervising judge of the Juvenile Court, and Judge Daniel Weinstein, the former supervising judge of the Juvenile Court. The eight-page memorandum documented in detail La Plante's alleged mistakes, failures, and overall incompetence in administering Juvenile Hall. Drawing upon information gleaned from his work experiences, Hyland described the precipitous decline in staff morale, accountability, and leadership at Juvenile Hall. Hyland also cited problems with the living conditions at Juvenile Hall and the treatment of minors detained there. Hyland concluded that La Plante should be terminated immediately "for the good of the youth and Staff at Juvenile Hall."
Before circulating the memorandum to the judges, Hyland shared it with Sweeney. Immediately upon receiving it, Sweeney allegedly told Hyland:
On February 27, 1989, Hyland delivered his memorandum to the judges and provided copies to the Juvenile Justice Commission and the California Youth Authority.
In March 1989, Hyland obtained a position as a paid consultant to the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives. In June 1989, Judge Wonder informed the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives of Sweeney's ban on Hyland's access to Juvenile Hall. The National Center subsequently advised Hyland that he could not work on cases in the San Francisco Juvenile Court.
In March 1990, Hyland commenced work as a consultant to the County Clerk of San Mateo County charged with reorganizing and automating the functions of the San Mateo Juvenile Court's office.
Hyland alleges that, following his termination, Sweeney told a newspaper reporter "[J]ust ask Hyland why he can't be a peace officer in the State of California." Hyland also alleges that Sweeney threatened to take various measures designed to prevent Hyland from working in the juvenile justice system again. Hyland does not, however, contend that Sweeney actually carried through on these threats. Sweeney and La Plante also wrote letters to the Governor of California withdrawing their support for Hyland's pardon application. Hyland alleges that Sweeney followed-up with a phone call to the Governor in March 1989, demanding that Hyland's pardon be denied because Hyland allegedly had unethically released to the public confidential information from juvenile court files. Hyland's pardon was denied in May 1989.
Hyland also charges Judge Wonder and other officials with failing to stop Sweeney and La Plante from taking steps to exclude Hyland from Juvenile Hall and related employment opportunities.
In March 1990, Hyland initiated pro se an action in federal district court against a variety of defendants, including Sweeney, La Plante, and Judges Wonder and Hanlon (collectively, "the defendants"). The complaint alleges both state and federal claims, including charges that Hyland's termination violated his First Amendment free speech rights and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.
After briefing and oral argument, the district court dismissed Hyland's federal Hyland timely noticed his appeal to this court.
action for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Specifically, the district court ruled that the complaint failed to articulate either a property or liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause. The district court also found that the speech was not protected by the First Amendment, citing Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983). The district court then dismissed Hyland's state law claims, without prejudice, for lack of jurisdiction
We review de novo the district court's dismissal of Hyland's complaint for failure to state a claim. Thomas v. Carpenter, 881 F.2d 828, 829 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1028, 110 S.Ct. 1475, 108 L.Ed.2d 612 (1990). The dismissal cannot be affirmed " 'unless it appears to a certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any set of facts that could be proved.' " Id. (quoting Sanders v. Kennedy, 794 F.2d 478, 481 (9th Cir.1986)). All material allegations of the complaint are taken as true and are construed in the light most favorable to Hyland. Id.
Whether Hyland's speech is protected by the First Amendment and is a matter of "public concern" is a question of constitutional law we review de novo. See Connick, 461 U.S. at 148 n. 7, 103 S.Ct. at 1691 n. 7; Roth v. Veteran's Admin., 856 F.2d 1401, 1405 (9th Cir.1988). Whether Hyland's termination impinged upon a protected property or liberty interest is likewise a question of constitutional law that we accord de novo review. See Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 570-78, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2705-10, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972); Carreras v. City of Anaheim, 768 F.2d 1039, 1042 n. 2 (9th Cir.1985).
Hyland argues that the district court erred in holding that the memorandum he wrote to the judges was not constitutionally protected speech. Hyland and the defendants focus their briefs on the question whether Hyland was a "public employee" entitled to avail himself of Supreme Court decisions insulating employee speech from retribution by superiors. But regardless of whether Hyland was a public employee, the First Amendment constrained the ability of state officials to deprive Hyland of a valuable governmental benefit as punishment for speaking out on a matter of public concern. We therefore reverse the district court's dismissal of Hyland's First Amendment claim.
The parties belabor the issue of Hyland's status as either a public employee or a volunteer, treating this issue as determinative of Hyland's entitlement to First Amendment protection. In so arguing, the parties fail to recognize the broader constitutional principles animating the Supreme Court's decisions on public employee speech.
The right of public employees to speak on matters of public concern, acknowledged in cases like Connick v. Myers is an...
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