Opinion
Case No. 2:12-cv-01793-JAM-CMK
07-06-2012
MARK POTTS, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF TRINITY; TRINITY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE; and BRUCE HANEY, Sheriff of Trinity County, Defendants.
KEKER & VAN NEST LLP AJAY S. KRISHNAN - # 222476 SHILPI AGARWAL - # 270749 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LINDA LYE - # 215584 Attorneys for Plaintiff MARK POTTS
KEKER & VAN NEST LLP
AJAY S. KRISHNAN - # 222476
SHILPI AGARWAL - # 270749
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
LINDA LYE - # 215584
Attorneys for Plaintiff MARK POTTS
STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58, and the agreement of the parties, the Court hereby enters final judgment in this matter as follows:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff's Office, and Sheriff Bruce Haney ("Defendants" collectively), their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with Defendants, are hereby restrained and enjoined from interfering with the exercise of constitutional free speech rights of employees of the Trinity County Sheriff's Office. Specifically, Defendants County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff's Department, and Sheriff Bruce Haney, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with Defendants, are hereby RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED as follows:
1. Defendants shall permanently expunge the Written Reprimand issued to Mark Potts on February 6, 2012.
2. Defendants shall immediately cease and desist from applying Sections 340.3.5(m) and (aa) and 1058.4(b) and (e) of the Trinity County Sheriff's Office Policy Manual to letters to the editor written by employees of the Trinity County Sheriff's Office, so long as the letters are in the writer's own name; address general policy matters, not specific official actions; and specifically state that the views expressed in the letters are the writer's personal views and not those of the Trinity County Sheriff's Office. Letters that "address general policy matters" include, but are not limited to, those that comment on the wisdom or propriety of laws, and those that discuss the general role of various agencies or governmental entities or actors in achieving public policy objectives. Letters that address "specific official actions" include, but are not limited to, those that refer, by name or title, to a particular person employed by the Trinity County Sheriff's Office, and those that identify a particular investigation or enforcement effort in which the Trinity County Sheriff's Office is or has engaged.
3. Defendants shall deliver to Plaintiff's counsel payment in the amount of ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($120,000.00) for Plaintiffs' reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. Payment shall be made to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California within 60 days of the Court's entry of judgment. Plaintiff shall make no further demands or claims for attorneys' fees or costs in connection with this matter.
4. No bond is necessary in this case because Defendants' compliance with this injunction would not create a risk of monetary loss.
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John A. Mendez
United States District Court Judge