Wednesday, July 14, 1999
Embarrassment, job loss ruled risks of controversy
Forest Park women lose lawsuit appeal
BY BEN L. KAUFMAN and MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Criticism, embarrassment and a lost election were not violations of Forest Park Councilwoman Brenda Mattox's rights, a federal court ruled Tuesday.
Rather, they are the risks of controversial stands, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit said.
Similarly, revelation of details of former Forest Park firefighter Dona E. Holly's private life did not rise to a constitutional violation, the court said.
Both women sued the city of Forest Park, City Manager Ray Hodges, then-Police Chief Steve Vollmar and then-police Capt. Ken Hughes in 1995, two years after a four-month investigation into the city's fire department.
They asked for more than $2 million in damages, plus attorneys fees.
The investigation, documenting issues from 1991 to 1993, revealed equipment tampering, arson and sexual involvement between supervisors and subordinates, and yielded a 690-page document and a 50-page report.
But it resulted in only one criminal charge against a former volunteer firefighter for allegedly filing a false police report.
In their lawsuit, Mrs. Mattox and Ms. Holly accused city officials of harassment and damage to their reputations after the report findings were made public.
Mrs. Mattox was one of two council members accused of interfering in the police probe, while a diary belonging to Ms. Holly was used to further the investigation.
The pair argued that televised criticism from city officials was unconstitutional retaliation for remarks on public policy that were protected by the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
Mrs. Mattox also contended that she lost her 1993 bid for re-election as a result of the city's conduct. Ms. Holly left the fire department in 1993.
The case reached the 6th Circuit after U.S. District Judge Herman J. Weber said a jury should decide whether the women's rights were violated.
The city appealed and won.
Sixth Circuit Judges Cornelia G. Kennedy, Eugene E. Siler Jr. and Karen Nelson Moore said the women failed to show the kind of injury required for a civil rights suit against local officials alleging First Amendment retaliation.
Speaking of Ms. Mattox's complaint, the court said, “A deliberate attempt to discredit Mattox, especially if initiated in retaliation for her actions in investigating the fire department, is perhaps an inappropriate and unfortunate occurrence, but on the facts of this case, it is not the type of "adverse action' against which the First Amendment protects ... Public officials may need to have thicker skins than the ordinary citizen when it comes to attacks on their views.”
Releasing transcripts of an interview in which Ms. Holly revealed a damaging childhood incident and other personal details is a “closer question” of retaliation, the 6th Circuit said.
However, Ms. Holly never asserted “concrete injuries” as a result of those revelations and, as a result, failed to state a constitutional case.
Neither Ms. Holly nor Mrs. Mattox could be reached for comment Tuesday.
City Manager Hodges said the city is delighted with the appellate court's ruling.
“The court reviewed the issue and decided in a manner that confirms our position from the very beginning,” he said. “We hold no grudge nor ill feelings against those who filed the complaint. We now need to simply put this behind us and move on.”
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