Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
v.
CAROL A. HICKEY, ET AL.,
Defendants, Appellants.
____________________
No. 92-2271
_____________________
____________________
June 15, 1993
____________________
____________________
1
TORRUELLA,
nontenured biology
Circuit
Judge.
_______________
teacher in the Belmont,
Toby
Klang
Ward,
Massachusetts public
School Committee
the Committee as
of the Town
of Belmont
by the
Committee's decision
and
of
not to
Defendants
Mary Tinkham, Carol Hickey, and the late Margaret Gibson cast the
deciding votes against
Ward's reappointment.
in
favor
of
defendants,
but
attorneys' fees.
We
denied
defendants'
In addition, we
determination
a jury's
Based on
of whether
any
of Ward's
the rest
litigation
was
frivolous.
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
__________
The dispute arose
grade
biology
fetuses.1
class
Defendant
out of a discussion in
concerning
abortion
Tinkham learned of
of
Ward's ninth
Down's
Syndrome
June 1982,
for the
the
School Committee
1982-83 school
tenure.
By
year.
voted on
A
Ward's
favorable vote
a deadlocked vote
of 3-3,
____________________
1
Some controversy also transpired
over Ward's alleged
discussion of Proposition 2 1/2, a Massachusetts referendum.
However, the jury found that none of the defendants' votes were
motivated by that discussion, and Ward did not appeal on that
issue. We therefore leave it out of our analysis.
-3-
retaliated
voting against
her
against her
for
discussing
reappointment; (2)
(1)
abortion by
defendants conspired
to
Amendment; and
(4) defendants
wrongfully terminated
1989, a
magistrate recommended
that the
On
district
court
grant
Ward leave
Amendment
to
amend her
complaint
to include
claim.
According
"failure-to-forewarn"
a constitutional right
First
to
the
to notice that
her
her
for
that discussion.
On
August
31, 1990,
the
Ward filed
suggested by the
granted
it
to the
second amended
extent
that
magistrate.
complaint
The
court
complaint alleged
violation
issues
of a
First Amendment
in a high school
class.
right to
Ward
discuss controversial
two phases.
At
special
the
questions.2
jury
because
In response to
concluded
that Tinkham
Hickey and
Gibson
were
not so
the first
voted
five questions,
against
reappointment
Inexplicably,
in
response to question six, the jury found that all three committee
Ward
investigating
said
in
her
the matter.3
biology
classroom
without
first
the
district court
asked
the
jury three
additional
Tinkham's
views
regarding
conflict with
abortion
the views
of
jury
Down's
that Tinkham
with
entered judgment
jury
verdicts,
for defendants.
the
the
district
Specifically,
court
v. Perry Local
___________
____________________
2
found
for
Since the
Tinkham.
jury found no
As its
members
disagreement,
did
not
act
also
According
to
offered alternative
the court,
Tinkham
grounds
was
for
its
entitled to
qualified
immunity,
and Ward
failed
to
establish the
School
1983 (1981).
to set
that Tinkham's
classroom discussion,
individual
voted
the
Ward
without
by the
controversial
investigation
that the
into
what
weight
verdicts which
Ward's classroom.
jury's special
was motivated
and the
contradicted
alternative,
motion
vote
defendants
occurred in
verdicts
aside the
The
of
the evidence.
trial.
The
In
the
but granted a
the evidence.5
____________________
4
The
standard.
See
___
denied the
1988.
that if
we
reverse the fee ruling, we should only grant fees for the portion
of the litigation that occurred after January 3, 1992.
The court
also
for
indicated
that
the
fees defendants
requested
reduction of the
that
fees,
court's
FIRST AMENDMENT
FIRST AMENDMENT
v. Doyle, 429
_____
violates the
protected speech.
Id. at
___
that (1)
fetuses was
her
discussion of
abortion
constitutionally protected;
Ward had
of Down's
to
Syndrome
discussion
Mount
_____
Healthy City Sch. Dist. of Educ., 429 U.S. at 287; see also Miles
________________________________
________ _____
v. Denver Public Schs., 944 F.2d 773, 775 (10th
____________________
Ward
made
that
preponderance
showing,
defendants
of the evidence
had
to
Cir. 1991).
establish
If
by
-7-
begin with
the
proposition
that teachers
school.
Id.
___
retain
Tinker v.
______
Des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969).
______________________________________
On the other
hand, it
is well-settled that
public schools
limit
507.
Courts
officials to
have long
recognized the
need for
may
See id. at
___ ___
public school
of maturity, and that the views of the individual speaker are not
erroneously
the
may regulate
regulation
pedagogical
is
find that a
a teacher's classroom
reasonably
related
to
speech if:
legitimate
varying
tests
courts
have
of discretion
Krizek
______
afforded schools
standard for
v. Board
_____
See, e.g.,
___ ____
analyzing school
of Educ. Arapahoe Sch. Dist., 598 F.2d 535, 543 (10th Cir. 1979)
_____________________________
-8-
(local
school
boards may
determine
determined
considering
the
students,
relationship
such
Mailloux
________
v.
of
as
between
taught, even
if
propriety
circumstances
subjects
school
age
regulations
by
and sophistication
of
teaching
method
F.2d 1242,
1243
and
valid
of presentation.
(1st Cir.
1971) (per
curiam).
Recently, the
273,
held
sponsored
that
educators
speech
as long
may
as
limit
the
the
content
limitations are
those in
484 U.S. at
of school-
"reasonably
While the
facts in
at least
one
See
___
Kuhlmeier,
_________
printing
a school
certain articles
principal
in
was
class.
not
public forum,
of
260.
newspaper.
The
restrictions
school
prevented students
the
expression
school
through
could
impose
the
paper.
constitute a
public
forum because
the
school never
decision that
a school newspaper
journalism class
curriculum and a
exhibited that
intent.
is not
-9-
Id. at 268.
___
Similarly, a
instructional
class activity.
is not a
speech
teacher's statements
during an
public forum,
regulation.
classroom
in class
and therefore is
See
___
Miles,
_____
944
subject to
F.2d
at
reasonable
776
(ordinary
not a public
regulation
school was
than
it
would
entitled to more
be
with
deference in
respect
to
other
"personal
expression
premises."
that
happens
to
occur
on
the
school
the
newspaper, a
teacher's classroom
speech is
reasonably limit
Id.
___
teachers'
speech in
that
Thus, schools
setting.
See
___
Kuhlmeier.
_________
F.Supp. at 1139.
It
pedagogical concerns
among other
-10-
things,
the
relationship
age
and
between
sophistication
teaching
method
of
and
the
students,
valid
the
educational
Even
teacher's
entitled to
retaliate against
test a school
it is not
never prohibited.
may prohibit a
284 (classroom
to [plaintiff's] communication .
. . .").
an
Few
fear teaching.
warned
in Keyishian
_________
385
U.S. at
604,
As the
Supreme Court
"[t]he danger
of
that
clearly inform
the Court
in Kuhlmeier
_________
Court
did not
Kuhlmeier,
_________
would
is prohibited.
postpublication retaliation
____________________________
speech, it stated
agree that
address the
must
v.
-11-
do
not
hold
that
school
must
expressly
prohibit
every
policies,
discussions,
based on existing
and
other
forms
of
that her
not
suppress
expressed.
In
Ward's
speech
use
the
based
interschool
on the
pursuant
viewpoint
to
she
a collective
mailing
system
and
the
teachers'
mailboxes.
Under the
same agreement,
the school
permitted no
held that the preferential access did not violate the First
Amendment.
reasoned
state
may
intended use.
However,
only
regulation is
if
the
460 U.S.
reserve
at 44-54.
The
public property
and
not
court
for
its
that property
an effort
to
Id. at 46.
___
-12-
Under the
not
apply to
teachers'
system significantly
being taught to a
not fear that
students
while
require
classroom speech.
differs from a
A faculty
school-sponsored curriculum
speech on
from learning
a faculty mailing
that school
Schools need
system will
the Court in
of
mailing
prevent
Indeed,
school-sponsored speech
be
viewpoint neutral.
Moreover,
does not
stand for
the
it is
viewpoint
neutral.
Even
The
46.
essential element of a
be reasonable.
First
held that
appeal,
was not
to do
Ward
does
entitled
so in advance.
not
to limit
She
argue
her
that
the
statements had
argues only
School
they
prohibited.
We
without objecting
before the
915
F.2d 764,
jury retires,
no party
to give an instruction.6
interrogatories.
769 (1st
Cir.
states
may
This
rule
Phav. v. Trueblood,
_____
__________
1990) (citing
Anderson v.
________
the present
interrogatory on
essentially
the
case, Ward
issue of
argues that
request such a
she
never requested
notice.
had no
question, we find
Moreover,
a special
while
Ward
meaningful opportunity
otherwise.
Before
to
submitting
judge
he specifically
held a
conference
parties' suggestions.
failed
to
request
Additionally,
her
(Conference
an
interrogatory on
notice
at
Ward
that time.
request for a
defendants'
question on
counsel
inquired
about
the
II verdict form to
____________________
6
invited the
After considering
for
in which
Similarly,
notice
issue
while
before
did not
request a question
on the
matter.
In
response to
defendants'
inquiry, the court stated that it would not address that issue in
Phase
After the jury answered the Phase II questions, Ward again missed
her chance
to
Indeed, after
court that
request an
on the
notice
issue.
the question of
22).
interrogatory
notice."
have a phase
7, 1992, at
refused to do.
requested
jury finding
It was not
until
the
notice
issue.
Ward
We
jury determination
failed to
do so.
She
on the
principal issue
of her
the right
case, she
to that
IV.
IV.
ATTORNEYS' FEES
ATTORNEYS' FEES
Under
discretion,
42 U.S.C.
1988
(Supp. 1992), a
court, in its
prevailing defendant in
a civil
rights
____________________
7
frivolous, unreasonable,
continued to
litigate
or groundless, or
after it
clearly became
that the
so."
145-46 (1st
Cir.
412,
422 (1978)).
The
district
court
denied
attorneys'
fees
by
analogizing
Lipsett v.
_______
to the
interrelated
Blanco, 975
______
claims
F.2d 934
(1st
doctrine discussed
Cir.
1992).
in
Under the
doctrine, once a court decides that a party has prevailed for the
purposes of
fees for
a fee-shifting
statute, the
work performed on
fee award
unsuccessful claims if
while some of
the present
case,
the district
claims
interrelated
interrelated.
Id. at 940-41.
___
court found
that
frivolous,
Thus,
claims doctrine,
that party's
may include
analogizing
to
fees on
the
all of
Ward's claims.
We
find
interrelated claims
the
It
court's
doctrine misplaced.
district
reliance
That doctrine
on
is used
is inapplicable
unless the
court initially
the
See
___
finds the
doctrine
The standard
fees
for a
is high to encourage
Foster v.
______
F.2d at 144.
to receive
claims.
On
See
___
the other
otherwise
Accordingly, a
be
used
for
claims.
See
___
id.
___
legitimate
refuse to
calculation would be
difficult.
court's primary
fee
judgment.
In addition
fees
reasonable.
case,
we
discretion
for
of Ward's
before the
the
litigation
beyond
that
time
were
that
in
finding
the
district
that
Ward's
3, 1992.
court
claims
Thus, we
did
not
were
abuse
its
not
clearly
adopt the
court's
We
ask
the
district court
on
remand
to
make
that
determination,
and
calculate
any
fees
accordingly.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
__________
-17-
ruling to the extent that it denies fees for the litigation prior
to
January 3, 1992.
which,
However, we remand
______
if any, of Ward's
frivolous.
If there
for a determination of
3, 1992 was
district
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