United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit by a former lieutenant officer in the sheriff's department against the county sheriff under 42 USC section 1983 claiming that his placement on administrative leave and subsequent demotion were in unconstitutional retaliation for mounting an election challenge against the sheriff, the district court's judgment as a matter of law in favor of the sheriff is affirmed, where: 1) the officer did not fall into the policymaker exception to the general rule against politically motivated dismissals; but 2) the sheriff was entitled to qualified immunity because a government official in his position reasonably but mistakenly could have believed that political loyalty was required by someone with the officer's job responsibilities at the time he ran against the sheriff; and 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiff's motion to amend a pretrial conference order.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/13/2012
• Published 02/13/2012

Judges

• Wardlaw

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Stephen H. Silver, Norman J. Watkins