County Official Terminated For Expressing Political Views During Her Candidacy Stated First Amendment Claim
Brenda Murphy brought suit against Linda Cockrell, the Montgomery County, Kentucky, Property Valuation Administrator (PVA), alleging violations of the First Amendment and wrongful discharge arising out of her dismissal from the Montgomery County PVA office.
The previous Montgomery County PVA officially retired on May 31, 2004. At that time, both Murphy and Cockrell had worked on the PVA staff for many years. Cockrell was Chief Deputy PVA while Murphy was a deputy PVA. On July 8, 2004, Cockrell was nominated as the Republican Party candidate for PVA, and subsequently, on July 19, 2004, Governor Ernie Fletcher appointed her as interim PVA. Shortly thereafter, Murphy was nominated as the Democratic Party's candidate for PVA.
Upon her appointment by Governor Fletcher to interim PVA, Cockrell moved Murphy from the front office to the back office, where she would not have public contact. Cockrell also asked Murphy to not take any calls at the PVA office related to her real estate business. Cockrell requested Murphy return her office key so that she could be sure that Murphy was not using PVA resources for campaign purposes.
Apparently, the campaign was a spirited one, as both parties greatly coveted the title of Montgomery County Property Valuation Administrator and all of the accoutrements that accompany such a position. Not surprisingly, the campaign created a great deal of tension between the parties at the PVA office. Apparently, Murphy's campaign signs attacked Cockrell's perceived inexperience in real estate valuations and also found fault with Cockrell's change of party allegiance shortly before her nomination as the Republican candidate.
On November 2, 2004, Cockrell was elected Montgomery County PVA. Two days later, apparently in accord with what must be a very efficient and businesslike office, Cockrell sent Murphy a letter stating only the following: “Your services are no longer required, effective immediately.”
Murphy subsequently filed this suit. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Cockrell on each of Murphy's claims. On appeal, the 6th Circuit reversed, holding that: 1) the fact that Cockrell fired Murphy due to her political speech during the course of her campaign--rather than the mere fact of Murphy’s candidacy--was enough to trigger protection under the First Amendment; 2) the district court’s determination that Murphy’s message was not "political" enough to warrant protection was in error; 3) Murphy’s free speech interests outweighed Cockrell's interests in maintaining an efficient PVA office; 4) Murphy was not in a confidential or policymaking position at her job, and thus did not fall under any category of the Elrod-Branti exception; and 5) Murphy could maintain a claim for wrongful discharge based on the alleged violation of her First Amendment rights.
Murphy v. Cockrell
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.