HOLLY L. TEETER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiffs Phillip Hoke, Sheena Hernandez, Holly Chandler, Mica Jade Koksal, Daniel Reyes, and Jean Ferguson have filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendant Herbert Swender in his individual and official capacities, and against Garden City Community College ("GCCC"). Plaintiffs allege violations of the First Amendment for infringement of speech and establishment of religion and of the Fourth Amendment for unlawful search and seizure. Defendants move for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c).
For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that Swender is entitled to qualified
The surviving claims from the complaint are Plaintiffs' First Amendment prior-restraint claim against both Defendants and their Fourth Amendment seizure claim against Swender (because Defendants have not challenged these claims in the motion to dismiss), and Plaintiffs' First Amendment retaliation claim against GCCC.
The following facts are taken from the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint, Doc. 1, and, consistent with the standards for evaluating motions to dismiss under Rule 12(c), the Court assumes the truth of these facts for purposes of analyzing the motion to dismiss.
Plaintiffs are or were employed by GCCC. All but Koksal (who is no longer with GCCC) and Reyes are tenured instructors. Doc. 1 at 3-4. Swender was president of GCCC from August 2011 until August 2018. Id. at 4. GCCC is a state educational entity located in Garden City, Kansas. Id. at 5. GCCC employs 250 full-time and 150 part-time employees. Id. at 6.
At the start of each semester, GCCC requires its faculty and staff to attend an all-day, in-service meeting presided over by the president. Id. at 7. The meetings are open to members of the public, including the news media. Id.
All Plaintiffs, along with 250 other faculty and staff and several community members, attended the in-service meeting in January 2017. Id. The morning session included a Protestant prayer by Nathan Sheridan, whom the agenda identified as being affiliated with the First Assembly of God Church. Id. A faculty or staff member gave a Protestant prayer before lunch. Id. at 9.
During the morning session, Swender also informed all in attendance that they would be hearing some "disturbing news" about GCCC's accreditation. Id. at 7. GCCC's continued existence is dependent on it being an accredited institution. Id. at 8. Swender did not say what the news was but indicated that he disagreed with it. Id. In June 2017—approximately six months later—an accrediting organization placed GCCC on probation. Id.
Following Swender's announcement regarding the anticipated "disturbing news," someone in the audience of approximately 250 people—but not any Plaintiff—recorded Swender's comments and sent them to a news outlet. Id. at 8, 15. The news outlet reached out to GCCC for comment shortly after the morning session broke for lunch. Id. at 9.
During lunch, Hoke and Swender met at the dessert table. Id. Swender appeared to be upset. Id. Swender "took" Hoke's cell phone without explanation, "opened it, looked at the open phone and then returned it" to Hoke. Id. Swender then asked Hoke if they were friends, and Hoke said they were. Id.
Swender then went to the podium, instructed all non-GCCC employees to leave, and ordered that the doors be closed. Id. Swender "then ordered the employees, again without explanation of his purpose, to unlock their phones and give them to
After these remarks, Swender ordered "everyone to inspect the phones they had been given to determine the identity of the source," and then instructed that he be told who contacted the media. Id. The phones at issue were private phones, not GCCC-issued phones. Id.
Over the course of the next year, Swender punished Plaintiffs and other GCCC faculty and staff by requiring them to do unnecessary paperwork regarding accreditation, sometimes throwing away work product and ordering them to redo it without explanation. Id. at 12.
GCCC held additional mandatory in-service meetings in August 2017 and January 2018. Id. at 13. At both meetings, Sheridan again led Protestant prayers. Id. At the January 2018 in-service meeting, Swender declared Sheridan to be the "College's Pastor." Id. During the course of his time as GCCC president, Swender arranged for only Protestant prayers at in-service meetings. Id. At the January 2018 meeting, another Protestant pastor (Ricky Griffin) gave a talk "providing Protestant witness to his life and his founding of a successful church in Texas." Id. Griffin closed his talk with a Protestant prayer. Id.
Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit asserting three claims. The first claim is against both GCCC and Swender in his individual and official capacities. Id. at 14-15. It alleges a First Amendment violation for infringement of speech and expression based on the alleged protected constitutional activity of disseminating Swender's remarks to the media—though by someone other than Plaintiffs. Id.
The second claim alleges an unlawful Fourth Amendment seizure as to Plaintiffs and an unlawful search as to Hoke, Koksal, and Reyes. The Fourth Amendment claim is only against Swender in his individual capacity. Id. at 16-17. Plaintiffs allege a seizure occurred when Swender ordered the doors closed and locked at the January 2017 in-service meeting, and that Swender ordered an unlawful search of Hoke's,
In the third count, Plaintiffs allege unconstitutional establishment of religion by Swender in his individual capacity. Id. at 18. This stems from the repeated inclusion of Protestant prayers at mandatory in-service meetings in 2017 and 2018, Griffin's testimonial talk, and Swender's declaration that Sheridan was the "College's Pastor." Id.
Defendants move for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c). The Court evaluates motions under Rule 12(c) using the same standard that applies to motions for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Ward v. Utah, 321 F.3d 1263, 1266 (10th Cir. 2003).
Under Rule 12(b)(6), "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). In undertaking this analysis, the Court accepts as true all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint, though it need not accept legal conclusions. Id. Likewise, conclusory statements are not entitled to the presumption of truth. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. A claim is plausible if it is supported by sufficient factual content to allow a court to make a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable. Id. The plausibility standard requires "more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully," but it "is not akin to a `probability requirement.'" Id. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. A complaint containing factual content that is merely consistent with liability fails to establish plausibility. Id.
Swender argues he is entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiffs' First Amendment retaliation claim
Once a defendant asserts qualified immunity, the plaintiff must show that: (1) the defendant's actions violate a constitutional right and (2) the constitutional issue was clearly established at the time of the defendant's actions. Medina v. Cram, 252 F.3d 1124, 1128 (10th Cir. 2001).
To be clearly established, the contours of the right must be sufficiently clear so that a reasonable official would know that what he was doing violated the right. Medina, 252 F.3d at 1128; Knopf, 884 F.3d at 944. It is not enough to assert a right at a high level of generality (e.g. a free-speech right or a due-process right)— the question is whether the specific conduct of the defendant is clearly prohibited. See Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731, 742, 131 S.Ct. 2074, 179 L.Ed.2d 1149 (2011); Cole v. Buchanan Cty. Sch. Bd., 328 F. App'x 204, 208 (4th Cir. 2009) (citing Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)). Courts must analyze the question in "the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition." Mullenix, 136 S. Ct. at 308 (quoting Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194, 198, 125 S.Ct. 596, 160 L.Ed.2d 583 (2004)). "A plaintiff may show clearly established law by pointing to either a Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit decision, or the weight of authority from other courts, existing at the time of the alleged violation." Knopf, 884 F.3d at 944 (quoting T.D. v. Patton, 868 F.3d 1209, 1220 (10th Cir. 2017)). Although there need not be a case directly on point, judicial precedent must have "placed the statutory or constitutional question beyond debate." al-Kidd, 563 U.S. at 741-42, 131 S.Ct. 2074 (noting that in the absence of controlling authority, it is necessary to at least have "a robust `consensus of cases of persuasive authority'" (quoting Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 617, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999))).
Courts have discretion to decide which prong of the qualified-immunity inquiry to address first. In cases that are "so fact-bound that deciding the constitutional
Both parties agree that First Amendment retaliation claims are governed by the five-part Garcetti/Pickering test:
Lincoln, 880 F.3d at 538 (citing Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 126 S.Ct. 1951, 164 L.Ed.2d 689 (2006) and Pickering v. Bd. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968)); see also Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1202-03; Knopf, 884 F.3d at 945. Swender seeks qualified immunity on grounds that: (1) there is no clearly established law that the actions he allegedly took amount to an adverse-employment action in the First Amendment retaliation context (element 4), and (2) application of the Garcetti official-duties test is unclear under the facts of this case (element 1). Doc. 20 at 7-12. The Court agrees with Swender's first argument.
The Tenth Circuit has recently stated that the standard for evaluating a First Amendment retaliation claim "is analogous" to the standard used in a Title VII case. Lincoln, 880 F.3d at 540. The question is whether the action would dissuade a reasonable person from exercising First Amendment rights. Id.
Plaintiffs cite several cases as support for their contention that the actions alleged here "easily qualify" as adverse-employment actions for their First Amendment retaliation claim. Doc. 25 at 18-20. But those cases involved suspensions, demotions, transfers, failure to renew employment contracts, being blacklisted from future employment, denials of promotions, and low performance evaluations—nothing similar to what occurred here. See id. at 18-20 (citing cases). Plaintiffs allege that they were reprimanded or "castigated," threatened with punishment for disseminating Swender's comments,
By contrast, as Swender notes in his motion, the Tenth Circuit has specifically evaluated similar claims and found that they did not clearly amount to adverse-employment actions. In Lincoln v. Maketa, one group of plaintiffs alleged that they and their children were subjected to a criminal investigation in retaliation for supporting the sheriff's political opponent, while another group alleged they were put on paid administrative leave, had their work gear confiscated, and were escorted out of the building to their humiliation. Id. at 536. The Tenth Circuit concluded that none of those actions are clearly established adverse-employment actions. Id. at 540-43. The Court finds Lincoln persuasive and on par with the facts alleged here.
Accordingly, because Plaintiffs have not shown that Swender's alleged actions violate clearly established law, the Court finds that qualified immunity is appropriate. See id. at 544.
GCCC argues that it cannot be held liable for Swender's actions under Monell v. Department of Social Services because
GCCC is correct that a municipality —or here, GCCC—cannot be held liable for Swender's actions under a theory of respondeat superior. Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 479, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986); Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). But GCCC can be held liable for Swender's actions if they were taken pursuant to GCCC's "official policy." Pembaur, 475 U.S. at 479, 106 S.Ct. 1292; see also Hinton v. City of Elwood, Kan., 997 F.2d 774, 782 (10th Cir. 1993) ("[T]o establish municipal liability, a plaintiff must show 1) the existence of a municipal policy or custom, and 2) that there is a direct causal link between the policy or custom and the injury alleged.").
Here, the complaint alleges that Swender's "tirade" against those at the January 2017 in-service meeting was based on someone communicating with the media without clearance from GCCC, which is required by GCCC policy. See Doc. 1 at 10 (stating that Swender's reprimand "reflected the College's overbroad, written policy"). At this stage, the Court must accept the allegations in the complaint as true. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Because Plaintiffs have alleged that Swender's conduct was taken pursuant to GCCC's media policy, GCCC may be subject to municipal liability, presuming that the underlying conduct at issue is ultimately found to violate the Constitution.
Plaintiffs assert their first claim—infringement on speech and expression —against GCCC and Swender in both his individual and official capacity. Doc. 1 at 14. Defendants argue that the claim against Swender in his official capacity is redundant to a claim against GCCC. Doc. 20 at 25-26. The Court agrees. "[A]n official-capacity suit is, in all respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against the entity." Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985). Because Monell established that a municipal entity can be sued directly under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 where the official acted pursuant to a municipal policy, Monell, 436 U.S. at 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, it is not necessary to bring official-capacity claims against government officials. Kentucky, 473 U.S. at 167 n.14, 105 S.Ct. 3099.
Plaintiffs have not addressed this argument in their response. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' First Amendment official-capacity claim against Swender is dismissed.
Swender seeks qualified immunity on Plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment claim because "federal courts have not clearly established the parameters of reasonable searches of electronic communications or searches in the workplace." Doc. 20 at 12.
The same standard for qualified immunity discussed above applies here. See Medina, 252 F.3d at 1128. On the clearly established prong, the issue is whether "the violative nature of particular conduct is clearly established," focusing on "the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition." Mullenix, 136 S. Ct. at 308 (quoting al-Kidd, 563 U.S. at 742, 131 S.Ct. 2074).
As Swender notes, Plaintiffs have not identified any cases in the Tenth Circuit suggesting that a government employer's search of an employee's personal cell phone is clearly unconstitutional, as is their burden. Medina, 252 F.3d at 1128; Knopf, 884 F.3d at 944. Beyond that, the Court notes that Plaintiffs have certainly not pointed to any cases involving the specific conduct alleged in the complaint, which is that Swender, "without explanation," told an audience of 250 adult employees during a staff meeting to unlock and hand their personal cell phones to the person sitting next to them, under no overt threat of negative employment consequences or termination for failing to do so, and with no specific enforcement mechanism for ensuring compliance. The highly unique circumstances here only underscore the need for particularized precedent.
Plaintiffs cite two district court cases from outside the District Kansas and the Tenth Circuit to show "the law was clear in January 2017" regarding Swender's conduct. Doc. 25 at 27. But neither case demonstrates that Swender's conduct was a clearly established constitutional violation. Although both cases involved an employer's search of an employee's personal cell phone, both searches were undertaken with a show of authority or direct threats of discipline not present in this case. See Larios v. Lunardi, 2016 WL 6679874, at *1, *5 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 14, 2016) (denying qualified immunity where a search went beyond the stated reason of identifying work-place misconduct, under circumstances where an employee was presented with a memo demanding that he turn his personal cell phone over or be subject to "charges/disciplinary action"); Hibbert v. Schmitz, 2017 WL 59075, at *1, *5 (C.D. Ill. Jan. 5, 2017) (involving an employee who was given a "subpoena" and told she had no choice but to turn over her cell phone). Here, by contrast, Swender was speaking to a large audience of 250 individuals, which is a very different situation than a one-on-one confrontation. There is no indication that he directly threatened disciplinary action for noncompliance like in Larios or issued an administrative subpoena like in Hibbert to force or coerce anyone to comply with his instruction.
Plaintiffs do allege they complied "out of fear that [Swender] would retaliate against him if they did not." Doc. 1 at 9. But there are no factual allegations in the complaint to suggest this was anything more than a subjective fear. The complaint also states that "many of the faculty and staff complied with Defendant Swender's dictate" because of Swender's anger and "threats of retaliation, to include firing." Id. at 12. But it is not clear whether Hoke, Koksal, and Reyes are included in that statement. To be sure, the complaint generally asserts that Swender leveled "threats and intimidation." But those allegations focus on his response to the dissemination of his comments to the press—not on whether anyone in the audience would comply with his instruction to hand their cell phone to their neighbor. In other words, there are no allegations in the complaint that Swender threatened or coerced anyone in the audience to submit to a search of their cell phone. Thus, the degree to which any
Instead, Plaintiffs argue that the Tenth Circuit has an established "analytical approach to use in these cases." Doc. 25 at 25. But to the extent "these cases" are Fourth Amendment employer-employee search cases, having an "analytical approach" does not mean that the conduct at issue is a clearly established constitutional violation. The focus of the qualified-immunity analysis is whether "the violative nature of
Plaintiffs also argue that the law was clear in 2017 that they had a privacy interest in their personal cell phones. Doc. 25 at 25-26. The case Plaintiffs primarily rely on is Riley v. California. But they only rely on it for the proposition that there is a significant privacy interest in private cell phones. Id.; see also Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 393-95, 134 S.Ct. 2473, 189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014). Such a broad assertion of a constitutional right is not helpful in a qualified-immunity analysis. See City of Escondido, Cal. v. Emmons, ___ U.S. ___, 139 S.Ct. 500, 503, 202 L.Ed.2d 455 (2019) ("This Court has repeatedly told courts ... not to define clearly established law at a high level of generality." (quoting Kisela, 138 S. Ct. at 1152) (ellipses in original)). Nor does Riley suffice as clearly established precedent in this case, as it focused on the propriety of cell-phone searches incident to arrest, not in the workplace. Riley, 573 U.S. at 401-02, 134 S.Ct. 2473 (noting that "other case-specific exceptions may still justify a warrantless search of a particular phone").
Plaintiffs' third claim for relief is against Swender in his individual capacity. Doc. 1 at 18. It alleges violations of the Establishment Clause based on the inclusion of Protestant prayers and a testimonial talk at mandatory in-service meetings, and Swender's declaration that Sheridan was the "College's Pastor." Id. Swender argues that he is entitled to qualified immunity because this is a matter of first impression in the Tenth Circuit and because Plaintiffs have not alleged any constitutional violation. Doc. 20 at 16-23. The Court agrees that the law on this question is not clearly established, and thus it need not address whether Swender's conduct was unconstitutional.
Establishment Clause prayer cases largely break along two lines: school prayer (generally involving children or teenagers) and prayers at the start of legislative sessions. School prayer is often constitutionally problematic because of the setting (school events that are either literally or practically compulsory) and the audience (impressionable children). See, e.g., Doe v. Indian River Sch. Dist., 653 F.3d 256, 275 (3d. Cir. 2011) ("Lee and the Supreme Court's other school prayer cases reveal that the need to protect students from government coercion in the form of endorsed or sponsored religion is at the heart of the school prayer cases."). By contrast, the Supreme Court has permitted prayers at the start of legislative sessions because of both historical tradition and because the audience is more mature and less impressionable than school children. Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 792, 103 S.Ct. 3330, 77 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1983) (citing "the unambiguous and unbroken history of more than 200 years" of legislative prayer and noting that "the individual claiming injury by the practice is an adult, presumably not readily susceptible to `religious indoctrination' ... or peer pressure" (internal citations omitted)); see also Snyder v. Murray City Corp., 159 F.3d 1227, 1233 (10th Cir. 1998) ("We are obliged,
As Swender argues, this case is unique because it involves characteristics of both school-prayer and legislative-prayer cases. See Doc. 31 at 16. Plaintiffs allege the in-service meetings are mandatory (compulsory attendance being a factor considered in school-prayer cases), but the audience— GCCC adult staff and faculty—are not as impressionable and subject to peer pressure as school children might be. See Town of Greece, 572 U.S. at 584, 134 S.Ct. 1811 ("Our tradition assumes that adult citizens, firm in their own beliefs, can tolerate and perhaps appreciate a ceremonial prayer delivered by a person of a different faith."). Thus, neither school-prayer cases nor legislative-prayer cases offer clear guidance on this issue.
In response, Plaintiffs argue that the Tenth Circuit relies on the Lemon test in Establishment Clause cases. Doc. 25 at 30-31. But even if that is true, the fact that the Tenth Circuit might apply the Lemon test in this case does not demonstrate that Swender's actions violated clearly established constitutional principles. Arguing that a particular test might be used to evaluate a constitutional question does not put the
Plaintiffs have not directed the Court to any Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit decisions on point to demonstrate that Swender violated clearly established law. Indeed, they fail to point to
Plaintiffs also cite Mellen v. Bunting as a case where a court struck down a group prayer practice "even though it was directed at [a] more mature audience than in Lee." Doc. 25 at 32. But Mellen, like Lee, is factually distinct and does not demonstrate that Swender violated clearly established constitutional principles. In Mellen, the
Plaintiffs also argue that Swender's conduct was clearly unconstitutional even under the arguably more lenient standard applied in legislative-prayer cases because the prayers he permitted were sectarian. Doc. 25 at 32-33. But the Supreme Court has also rejected the argument that "the constitutionality of legislative prayer turns on the neutrality of its content." See Town of Greece, 572 U.S. at 580, 134 S.Ct. 1811; see also Snyder, 159 F.3d at 1234 n.10 (noting that "the mere fact a prayer evokes a particular concept of God is not enough to run afoul of the Establishment Clause"). What the Establishment Clause prohibits is "a more aggressive form of advancement, i.e., proselytization." Snyder, 159 F.3d at 1234 n.10. Here, all Plaintiffs have alleged is that Swender invited a Protestant minister to lead a prayer at the start of the in-service meetings, called him the "College's Pastor," and permitted another minister to give a "Christian-laced" inspirational speech. Even accepting those allegations as true, they do not suggest the type of behavior that the Supreme Court suggested might cross the line. See Town of Greece, 572 U.S. at 583, 134 S.Ct. 1811 (cautioning that a different analysis may be warranted "[i]f the course and practice over time shows that the invocations denigrate nonbelievers or religious minorities, threaten damnation, or preach conversion"). Nor does it establish that Swender's conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right.
In the absence of judicial precedent on this precise issue—the propriety of prayer at a mandatory staff meeting for government employees—the Court agrees with Swender's argument that there is no clearly established authority.
Nor is it clearly established that Swender separately violated the Establishment Clause when he declared Sheridan the "College's Pastor."
Accordingly, the Establishment Clause claim against Swender must be dismissed because Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that his conduct violated clearly established law. He is therefore entitled to qualified immunity.
THE COURT THEREFORE ORDERS that Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings (Doc. 19) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Swender is entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiffs' First Amendment retaliation claim, Fourth Amendment search claim, and First Amendment establishment claim. The First Amendment retaliation claim against GCCC survives under Monell. But Plaintiffs' First Amendment retaliation claim against Swender in his official capacity is dismissed as duplicative of the claim against GCCC. The Court does not address Plaintiffs' First Amendment prior-restraint claim or Fourth Amendment seizure claim.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
