Knight v. Vernon

• Decision Date: 08 September 1998
• Docket Number: No. Civ.A. 1:97CV00755.,Civ.A. 1:97CV00755.
• Citation: 23 F.Supp.2d 634
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina
• Parties: Kathy W. KNIGHT, Plaintiff, v. C.D. VERNON, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Rockingham County; and the County of Rockingham, Defendants.

23 F.Supp.2d 634

Kathy W. KNIGHT, Plaintiff, v. C.D. VERNON, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Rockingham County; and the County of Rockingham, Defendants.

No. Civ.A. 1:97CV00755.

United States District Court, M.D. North Carolina.

September 8, 1998.

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Robert M. Elliot, Elliot, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan, P.A., Winston-Salem, NC, for Kathy W. Knight, Plaintiff.

James Redfern Morgan, Jr., Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, for C.D. Vernon, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Rockingham County, Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BULLOCK, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Kathy W. Knight, was one of seven employees of the Rockingham County Sheriffs Department fired by Defendant C.D. Vernon on the same day following his primary election in 1994. Plaintiff has sued Defendant Vernon and Defendant Rockingham County alleging, inter alia, that her firing violated her right to free speech and due process under the United States Constitution. Plaintiff also makes claims under the North Carolina Constitution and common law. A companion case brought by two of the seven terminated employees reached decision by this court in Harter v. Vernon (Harter I), 953 F.Supp. 685 (M.D.N.C.), aff'd, 101 F.3d 334 (4th Cir.1996) (Harter II), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 117 S.Ct. 2511, 138 L.Ed.2d 1014 (1997), on motion for reconsideration, 980 F.Supp. 162 (M.D.N.C.1997) (Harter III). This case is presently before the court on Defendants' motions to strike, motion for judgment on the pleadings, and motion for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the court will deny Defendant Vernon's motion for judgment on the pleadings, grant in part Defendants' motion to strike, and grant in part Defendants' motion for summary judgment.

FACTS

The court takes the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, as it must at this stage of the proceedings. Vernon hired Plaintiff for the position of Jailer I in September 1989. At her interview, Vernon inquired about her party affiliation and indicated to her that she would be expected to support him in future elections. On her first or second day of employment, Plaintiff received a copy of the Rockingham County Employee Handbook. It is undisputed that Plaintiff had neither a written contract nor a fixed term of employment.

As a Jailer I, Plaintiff was generally responsible for monitoring the operation of the jail and performing duties required for the supervision, care, processing, and transportation of the inmates. In processing inmates, Plaintiff was responsible for:

maintaining records, accepting incoming prisoners, logging them in, processing them, which is fingerprinting, getting the information pertaining to the addresses and families, marking their personal articles and storing them, routing them to the nearest nurse for physical examinations and checking them for lice and disease, and making sure everybody is given a bath and new clean clothing issued.

(Vernon Dep. at 64). Plaintiff's duties also required checking on the inmates every half hour, logging their requests, distributing and logging the medication and supplies issued to them, sending inmates to court appearances, serving food to the inmates, managing inmate visitation, transporting inmates to and from prison or mental facilities, and maintaining general order and security. (Vernon Dep. at 64; King Dep. at 44; Knight Dep. at 23). The jailers are also responsible for processing the inmates for discharge from jail. Plaintiff's supervisor testified that a jailer's duties were thirty-to-forty per cent paperwork (e.g., documenting commitment orders and processing inmates) and sixty to seventy per cent supervising inmates and maintaining order and security.

Plaintiff received several positive performance appraisals as well as a commendation during her term of employment. Plaintiff was eventually promoted to the position of Jailer II and served as acting sergeant in the absence of her supervisor, Sergeant Reggie King. There are no differences in job duties between Jailer I and Jailer II.

On January 8, 1994, the Greensboro News & Record published a story on the operation of the inmate trust fund at the Rockingham County Jail. Prior to January 1994, prisoners incarcerated at the Rockingham County Jail were required to deposit their cash in a cash box maintained by the jail employees as part of the incarceration process. The amount deposited was recorded in a ledger. Upon the inmate's release, the amount deposited was returned. The cash held by the jail employees on behalf of the inmates was known as the "inmate trust fund." Prior to 1994, it was common practice for the jailers to cash checks on the inmate trust fund. The story published by the newspaper reported that certain jailers and other employees of the Sheriff's Department were taking cash from the inmate trust fund in exchange for personal checks that would remain uncashed for weeks at a time. The newspaper alleged that these Sheriff's Department employees were writing checks for "interest-free loans" at inmates' expense. There is some evidence that this story disrupted the working relationships among the jailers, causing embarrassment and creating suspicions regarding who leaked the information to the newspaper.

Vernon had not been aware that jailers were cashing personal checks on the inmate trust fund until so informed by Sergeant King in late December 1993. Upon learning of this practice, Vernon instructed his Chief Jailer to open up a bank account for inmate funds and to stop the practice of cashing checks on the inmate trust fund. Vernon did not, however, take any further action to investigate whether any criminal wrongdoing had occurred.

In her position as jailer, Plaintiff was well aware of her co-workers' use of the inmate trust fund to cash their checks. She testified that she photocopied the checks in the inmate trust fund on a periodic basis to protect herself against any charges of wrongdoing. Plaintiff claims that, with one exception, she never showed these photocopies to anyone or discussed the trust fund with anyone outside of the Sheriff's Department. In late 1993, Plaintiff showed the photocopies to a friend, Roger Hair, who happened to be a magistrate, and told him about the jailers' use of the inmate trust fund. Hair advised her that the actions of the jail employees were potentially criminal. Plaintiff then advised her superior, Reggie King, that this use of the inmate trust fund should not be allowed to continued. Plaintiff adamantly denies providing any information concerning the inmate trust fund to the press or showing the photocopies of the checks to anyone else.

In the spring of 1994, Vernon stood for reelection against three candidates in the Democratic primary. Vernon's chief rival was a former employee of the Sheriff's Department, Sam Page. According to Plaintiff, Vernon put the resources of the Sheriff's Department to work to get re-elected. Vernon's top officers solicited the support of deputy sheriffs while on duty at shift meetings. Vernon's secretary also served as his campaign treasurer. In April 1994, Plaintiff's husband, Deputy Sheriff Robert Knight, met with Vernon. Vernon stated that he had heard rumors that Mr. Knight was supporting Sam Page. Mr. Knight denied these rumors and asked Vernon what he should do to make things right. Vernon showed him "a list of Sam Page's contributors," (Aff. of R. Knight, ¶ 6), and stated that a person would have to contribute $100.00 or more to an election campaign for him to know about it. Mr. Knight interpreted this as a request to donate over $100.00 to Vernon's campaign. Vernon then asked to meet with Mr. Knight and Plaintiff the next day.

At this meeting, Vernon accused Plaintiff of leaking information about the inmate trust fund to the press. Vernon also stated that he had heard that Plaintiff and her husband were campaigning for Page and that he knew they did not have a sign supporting Vernon in their yard. Plaintiff and Mr. Knight tried to convince Vernon that they were not openly supporting any particular candidate in the primary, and that they would continue to discharge their duties at the highest level. Vernon was unconvinced by their statements. When Plaintiff and her husband asked Vernon what they should do, he stated that they should attend the rallies, meetings, and activities supporting his re-election and place signs in their yard. Mr. Knight responded by asking Vernon whether people would think that they were spying for another candidate. Vernon agreed that it was possible, but added, "I don't know what to tell you, but seven weeks after the primary, it will be all over and everyone will stop talking about it." (Aff. of R. Knight, ¶ 8). Vernon stated at the conclusion of the meeting, "Don't think that putting up posters will get you back in my good graces, because it won't." (Id.). Plaintiff interpreted this to mean that she and her husband would be fired for failing to support Vernon's campaign.

Vernon won the primary election on May 3, 1994. Because he had no formal opposition in the general election, this victory for all practical purposes constituted his re-election as Sheriff. Three weeks later, Vernon directed Detective Jim Kendrick to conduct an internal investigation into who had given the newspaper the photocopies of the checks in the inmate trust fund and the information which formed the basis for the newspaper article. Vernon also asked Kendrick to investigate whether photographs had been taken from an inmate. After a six-week investigation, Detective Kendrick determined that Plaintiff had, in fact, provided photocopies of the employee checks in the trust fund to the newspaper and had probably stolen the inmate's photographs. In a memorandum dated July 8, 1994, Kendrick summarized the results of his investigation and recommended disciplinary action against Plaint...