1st Amendment Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Scott A. Milliman, Sr., v. County of McHenry, et al.

Case No.: 17-2687

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

Focus: 1^st Amendment Violation

Plaintiff Scott A. Milliman, Sr. is a former McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy. While working for the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department (“MCSD”), Milliman gave a deposition in which he accused Sheriff Keith Nygren of corruption, bribery, securing fraudulent loans, trafficking illegal aliens, and soliciting the murder of two individuals. Based upon these allegations, Nygren and his subordinates referred Milliman to a psychologist to evaluate whether he was fit for duty. The psychologist determined that Milliman suffered from cognitive and psychological problems from a previous brain tumor in his right frontal lobe that rendered him unfit to perform his duties. MCSD terminated Milliman based upon the results of the fitness examination, the false allegations against Nygren, and violations of multiple MCSD General Orders. In response, Milliman sued Nygren, Nygren’s subordinates, and the county in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Milliman claimed that defendants violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for making protected speech. The district court granted summary judgment to defendants on the ground that the fitness‐for‐duty examination provided an independent, non‐retaliatory, non‐pretextual basis for Milliman’s termination. For the reasons below, we affirm.

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.