Garraghty v. Jordan

• Decision Date: 09 October 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-3718,86-3718
• Citation: 830 F.2d 1295
• Parties: 23 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1301 David A. GARRAGHTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Fred E. JORDAN, Jr., individually and as Regional Administrator, Central Region, Virginia Department of Corrections; Edward Murray, individually and as Deputy Director, Virginia Department of Corrections; Allyn R. Sielaff, individually and as Director, Virginia Department of Corrections, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 1295

830 F.2d 1295

23 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1301

David A. GARRAGHTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Fred E. JORDAN, Jr., individually and as Regional Administrator, Central Region, Virginia Department of Corrections; Edward Murray, individually and as Deputy Director, Virginia Department of Corrections; Allyn R Sielaff, individually and as Director, Virginia Department of Corrections, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 86-3718.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued April 8, 1987.

Decided Oct. 9, 1987.

Craig Becker (John C. Dempsey, Kirschner, Weinberg & Dempsey, Washington, D.C., on brief), for plaintiff-appellant.

H. Aubrey Ford, III (Philip B. Morris, John D. Epps, Browder, Russell, Morris & Butcher, P.C., Richmond, Va., on brief), for defendants-appellees.

Before RUSSELL and WILKINSON, Circuit Judges, and JOSEPH F. ANDERSON, United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina, sitting by designation.

DONALD RUSSELL, Circuit Judge:

David Garraghty, a Virginia prison Warden, sued his superiors, defendants Jordan, Murray and Sielaff, under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, alleging that they violated his first amendment and due process rights by suspending him from his job without due process and solely to punish him for exercising his first amendment rights of free speech and association. A three day jury trial commenced on August 15, 1986. In its order with respect to the defendants' motion in limine and in subsequent rulings during the trial, the court deemed inadmissible certain evidence offered by Garraghty to show an impermissible motive for the suspension and to show Jordan's harsher treatment of Garraghty than of other subordinates for comparable discipline problems. After Garraghty rested his case, the Court directed a verdict for defendants Murray and Sielaff on all claims and for Jordan on the due process claim. The jury subsequently found for Jordan on the first amendment claim as well. On appeal, Garraghty challenges the court's exclusion of certain evidence and the directed verdicts for the defendants. Garraghty does not directly challenge the jury's verdict on his first amendment claim so we will not address the first amendment issues involved in the case.

I. FACTS

Garraghty, a state employee, is the Warden of the Nottoway Correctional Center in Virginia. At the time of the incident in question, defendant Jordan was his immediate supervisor, holding the position of Regional Administrator. Defendant Murray was the Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections and defendant Sielaff was the Director of that Department. Beginning in the summer of 1984 and continuing through the time that he was suspended, Garraghty was an outspoken critic of the Department of Corrections and of the then Governor Robb's corrections policy. He was also involved in an attempt to organize state employees. Garraghty incurred some disfavor among his superiors for these actions.

Jordan, at a meeting on May 21, 1985, instructed wardens under his supervision to streamline communications with his office so that all communications from lower level employees would be handled through the wardens within the regional chain of command. On May 24, 1985, which was the Friday of the Memorial Day Weekend, a low level Nottoway personnel official called Jordan regarding a routine personnel matter in contravention of Jordan's prior instructions to wardens. Jordan called Garraghty at about 4:50 P.M. that afternoon to ask why he (Jordan) was still receiving low level callers from Nottoway and also to ask Garraghty to provide information regarding the status of the particular personnel matter. Garraghty, whose shift ended at 4:30, was still in his office and took the call. When Jordan asked Garraghty for the personnel information Garraghty told Jordan that he was off duty and that he would provide Jordan with the information in a few days. When Jordan requested that Garraghty get the information immediately Garraghty exclaimed that he was being "set up" and said several times to Jordan: "make your move." Jordan told Garraghty that he was being insubordinate and demanded that Garraghty drive to Richmond (1 1/2 hours away) that afternoon to discuss the problem. Garraghty replied that he had personal business to take care of and refused Jordan's demand. The exchange grew heated and Jordan hung up the phone. Afterwards, Jordan called Director Sielaff's office for advice concerning the incident. Sielaff summoned Maya Hasagawa, Director of Employee Relations for the Corrections Department, to his office to participate in the conference call. Jordan described the incident and asked what disciplinary measures he could take. Hasagawa told Jordan that he could suspend Garraghty for up to five days for insubordination, according to the state book on standards of conduct, but cautioned Jordan that he first meet with Garraghty and give Garraghty a chance to explain his conduct. Hasagawa also told Jordan that he should treat Garraghty as he would any warden. Sielaff and Murray concurred with Hasagawa's advice. Jordan then called Garraghty's office and, finding that Garraghty had left for the weekend, left word that Garraghty report to Jordan's office on the following Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Garraghty appeared in Jordan's office with a tape recorder. Attending the meeting were Jordan, Garraghty and Carl Bobrosky, Corrections Department Manager of Operations. Jordan told Garraghty that the meeting was not adversarial and, stating that he was disturbed by his Friday telephone conversation with Garraghty, asked Garraghty to explain his conduct during the telephone conversation. Garraghty and Jordan disagreed as to what exactly had been said during the Friday conversation, and the tone in which things were said, but Garraghty acknowledged that he had refused to provide Jordan with the requested personnel information and to report to Jordan on Friday as ordered. Garraghty offered as his explanation that he had to attend to personal business. Jordan and Bobrosky both testified that Garraghty was belligerent during the meeting, but Garraghty denied this. At some point early in the meeting Jordan realized that Garraghty was recording the conversation, and he told Garraghty to turn off the recorder. Garraghty turned the recorder off, but he later turned it back on without informing Jordan. Finding Garraghty's explanation for his conduct on Friday insufficient to excuse him, Jordan told Garraghty that his conduct constituted insubordination and advised Garraghty that he was suspended for five work days without pay. Virginia's regulations did not provide for an appeal of suspensions of less than ten days so Garraghty had no post-suspension administrative hearing. See Va.Code Ann. Sec. 2.1-114.5 and regulations promulgated thereunder. Garraghty brought this action under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

II. DISCUSSION

A. The Court's Exclusion of Evidence

Garraghty's complaint alleged that Jordan, with the approval of the other defendants, suspended him in retaliation for his criticism of department policies and for his union activities. To support his allegations Garraghty attempted to introduce evidence to show that he was treated dissimilarly from others accused of insubordination and to show that the defendants had sought grounds to remove him because of his speech and union activities. Before trial, the court ruled, after considering the defendants' motion in limine to exclude certain evidence, that three types of evidence were to be excluded as irrelevant:

1. Statements or actions by persons other than the named defendants and of which the defendants were unaware;

2. Disciplinary actions taken against other Department of Corrections employees which [were] not alleged to be in retaliation for public statements made by such employees; and

3. Actions engaged in by other Department of Corrections employees for which no disciplinary steps were taken, but which were not comparable to the act that allegedly formed the basis for plaintiff's suspension.

Later, during the trial, when Garraghty proffered to the court such evidence as well as evidence of the defendants' alleged mistreatment of other corrections department employees, the court excluded the evidence as inadmissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 402, 403 and 404. Also during the trial, Garraghty attempted to introduce evidence of statements and actions of the defendants occurring after the suspension in order to prove the defendants' improper motive for the suspension. The district court excluded this evidence as irrelevant to the issue of the May suspension. Garraghty asserts that the court erred in excluding the evidence. He states that the evidence was relevant and probative to prove the defendants' improper motive for the suspension. We find Garraghty's arguments without merit.

This court will defer to a trial court's Rule 403 balancing unless it is an arbitrary or irrational exercise of discretion. United States v. Penello, 668 F.2d 789, 790 (4th Cir.1982). And the same standard of review applies to a trial court's rulings under Rule 404(b). United States v. Greenwood, 796 F.2d 49, 53 (4th Cir.1986). The Rules of Evidence provide that the district court may admit relevant Rule 404(b) evidence to prove intent or motive if the court does not deem the evidence inadmissible under Rule 403 as too confusing or unfairly prejudicial. The evidence excluded by the court on the defendants' motion in limine was clearly irrelevant as well as confusing. Some of the later proffered evidence was also inadmissible under Rule 404(b) because it was intended to show that, in suspending Garraghty, the defendants acted in conformance with their prior acts. The court properly excluded this evidence. The court's exclusion of post-suspension statements and actions by the defendants was proper. Although some of the...