1st Amendment violation

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7^th Circuit court of Appeals

Case Name: Joseph S. McGreal v. The Village of Orland Park, et al

Case No.: 16-2365

Officials: MANION, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 1^st Amendment violation

On June 28, 2010, Joseph McGreal was fired from his position as a police officer with the Or‐ land Park Police Department. Thereafter, he sued the Village of Orland Park and three members of the police department—Chief of Police Timothy McCarthy, Lieutenant Patrick Duggan, and Lieutenant James Bianchi—claiming that the defendants violated his First Amendment rights by firing him in retaliation for his exercise of protected speech at a community board meeting. He also brought a state‐law intentional‐infliction‐of‐emotional‐distress claim. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, which the district court granted.   This appeal ultimately comes down to evidence, or perhaps more appropriately, a lack of it. Because McGreal has offered no admissible evidence showing that he is entitled to relief, the district court properly dismissed his claims.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.