First Amendment — political hires, mayor’s immunity

Posted July 17, 2015 3:30 PM

Where a low-level city employee did not create a policy or exercise sufficient discretion, politics was not an appropriate consideration in the person’s hiring and the mayor was not entitled to qualified immunity.The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, Southern District of Indiana.Kevin Smith was elected mayor of Anderson, Ind., a town of about 56,000 people, in 2012. After his election, Smith replaced many members of the city’s staff with his …

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