Back v. Hall

In 2003, while a Democrat occupied the Kentucky governors mansion, Linda Back, a registered Democrat, received a civil-service position in the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. In 2005, one year after a Republican administration took the reins of State government, Keith Hall and Joel Schrader, Backs supervisors, fired her. Back sued them under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that they fired her based on protected speech and political affiliation in violation of the First (and Fourteenth) Amendment. Before discovery commenced, the defendants asserted qualified immunity, which the district court granted as to Backs freedom-of-speech claims but denied as to Backs political-affiliation claims. Hall and Schrader seek interlocutory review of the district courts political-affiliation decision, and we affirm.