Fields v. Harris, 81-2416
| Decision Date | 14 April 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-2416,81-2416 |
| Citation | 675 F.2d 219 |
| Parties | Jacki L. FIELDS, Appellant, v. Patricia HARRIS, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Elwyn L. Cady, Jr., Independence, Mo., for appellant, in forma pauperis.
Robert G. Ulrich, U. S. Atty., Mark J. Zimmermann, Asst. U. S. Atty., Robert Van Norman, Asst. Regional Atty., Dept. of Health and Human Services, Kansas City, Mo., for appellee.
Before HEANEY, ROSS, and ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff, Jacki Fields, appeals the District Court's 1 dismissal of her claim of wrongful termination from federal employment. The District Court held that plaintiff's remedy was to petition either the Court of Claims or a court of appeals to review the administrative decision to dismiss her, instead of bringing an original action based directly on the federal Constitution. Fields v. Harris, 522 F.Supp. 901 (W.D.Mo.1981). We affirm.
Ms. Fields worked as a Claims Folder Clerk for the Mid-America Program Center of the Social Security Administration in Kansas City, Missouri. On October 16, 1978, the agency fired her for allegedly taking a knife onto federally leased property and assaulting a co-employee. She appealed to the United States Civil Service Commission, now the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and presented a self-defense theory throughout the proceedings. On March 19, 1979, the MSPB appeals officer rejected her argument and affirmed the discharge. The appeals officer found as a fact, on conflicting testimony, that Ms. Fields's conduct
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives the Court of Claims and the courts of appeals exclusive jurisdiction to review MSPB decisions, 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b) (1). The party aggrieved must file for review "within 30 days after the date the petitioner received notice of the final order or decision of the Board." Id. Ms. Fields was dismissed from work on October 16, 1978. A final decision upholding her dismissal was entered by the MSPB and sent to Ms. Fields on March 19, 1979. She could have appealed directly to this Court at any time before April 19, 1979. Instead she commenced a suit in the District Court, the wrong forum, on May 2, 1980, more than a year too late.
In an effort to circumvent the statutory time bar and establish jurisdiction, Ms....
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...stage. Brown v. Secretary of the Army, 918 F.2d 214, 217 (D.C.Cir.1990); see also Fields v. Harris, 522 F.Supp. 901 (W.D.Mo.1981), aff'd, 675 F.2d 219, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 869, 103 S.Ct. 153, 74 L.Ed.2d 128 (1982) (holding that the Act did not bestow an independent basis of jurisdiction ......
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Martinez v. Smith, Civ. No. 82-0957.
...5 U.S.C. § 5596 does not provide a jurisdictional basis for the instant proceeding. Fields v. Harris, 522 F.Supp. 901, aff'd. 675 F.2d 219 (8th Cir.1982). Finally, plaintiff asserts that his constitutional due process rights have been violated by the General Counsel for his refusal to issue......
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