Judge Tosses Suit by Detroit City Lawyer Ousted over ‘Ghetto Court’ Remark
The former top lawyer for the city of Detroit plans to appeal a judge’s ruling throwing out her suit that claims she was forced to resign because of a “ghetto court” remark.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow said the remark by former interim corporation counsel Kathleen Leavey was not protected by the First Amendment because it was made in her official capacity, according to the Detroit News, the Associated Press and Lawyers USA’s Benchmark blog. Her reverse racial discrimination claim also must fail, he said, because she cannot show that she was treated differently than similarly situated minority employees.
Leavey, who is white, says she was making the point that a Detroit court is regarded as a ghetto court because of poor and inefficient service. She claimed the comment would have been overlooked if she were black.
Tarnow said in his opinion (PDF posted by Lawyers USA) that Leavey made the comment “during a business call during business hours pursuant to official business.” The subject of the call was a discussion about whether a court or city budget should pick up the cost of a judgment against the court. The “ghetto court” criticism was incidental to the discussion, and was made during a heated exchange, Tarnow said.
Leavey offered to resign after making the remark, and was not allowed to keep her job when she had second thoughts, AP says. Her lawyer, James Fett, told the Detroit News that an appeal is planned to the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He says her statement should have been constitutionally protected because it was about a matter of public concern.
