Alito Casts Deciding Vote Muzzling Government Whistleblowers

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" DitziSis " <mk2967

Fri, 2 Jun 2006 01:43:46 -0700 (PDT)

Full Court Press: Alito Casts First Deciding Vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Full Court

Press

 

 

Alito Casts Deciding Vote Muzzling Government Whistleblowers

 

 

For the nation's 21 million government workers,

Tuesday was not a

particularly good day. In an opinion authored by

Justice Kennedy and joined by the rest of the

emerging conservative bloc--including Justice Alito

in his first decisive vote--the Supreme Court

ruled 5-4 that the First Amendment offers no

protection against retaliation to public

employees who, in the course of their duties,

blow the whistle on waste, fraud or corruption.

Public auditors fired after discovering and

disclosing

the embezzlement of municipal funds? Police

officers demoted after reporting illicit activities by

public officials? County engineers terminated

after revealing that contractors' work wasn't up

to snuff? None of them enjoy constitutional

protection any longer. Nor do any other government

workers in a dizzying array of whistleblower

scenarios. (Click here for more

(http://e2ma.net/go/281927763/221421/6398901/goto:http://www.afj.org/fullcourtpr\

ess.html))

 

 

Garcetti v. Ceballos, No. 04-473, slip op. (U.S.

Sup.

Ct. Decided May 30, 2006)

 

 

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