[Wait] Garcetti standard dooms Almontaser's free speech case

A Southern District judge has dismissed a First Amendment lawsuit brought by a high school principal who was forced to resign after she gave an interview with the New York Post about a controversial t-shirt which made reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The case is Almontaser v. New York City Department of Education, 2009 WL 2762699 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 1, 2009) decided by Judge Stein. This case previously went to the Second Circuit, which affirmed Judge Stein's order denying Almontaser's motion for preliminary relief. That case can be found at 519 F.3d 505 (2d Cir. 2008). The Court of Appeals' ruling is among the few to interpret the Supreme Court's ruling in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), which altered the rules governing the free speech rights of public employees. I wrote about Amontaser's Second Circuit ruling here.

Almontaser was interim acting principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy. The New York Post wanted comment on the t-shirt. The Board of Education make arrangements for the telephonic interview, and it also arranged, guided and directly participated in the interview. Almontaser testified that she gave the interview "because I was told it was in the best interest of the school. Otherwise I wouldn't have done the interview." Although she claimed the newspaper misquoted her, it was her comments during the interview which led to her forced resignation.

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