Garcetti v. Ceballos
Supreme Court
547 U.S. 410 (2006)
Deputy district attorney Richard Ceballos (plaintiff) believed a search warrant affidavit contained serious inaccuracies, investigated the issue as part of his official duties, recommended the case be dismissed to his supervisors, and later testified for the defense about the inaccuracies after his supervisors decided to proceed with prosecution anyway; Ceballos claimed he then faced retaliatory employment actions and sued District Attorney Garcetti (defendant), arguing the First Amendment protected his speech. The district court found Garcetti had qualified immunity, but the court of appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the First Amendment protects a public employee's speech made pursuant to his official job duties, even where the speech addresses a matter of public concern.