David Smith v. Jaquelyn Aufderheide

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff David Smith appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of Defendants, Smith’s former supervisors Randy Casteel and John Brand, and his former employer, Kitsap County, Washington. Smith claimed that Defendants violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.2000e ei seq., and that they committed state law torts against him. We have jurisdiction over Smith’s appeal from the final judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Background

Smith asserts that he was fired from his position at the Public Works Department of Kitsap County for engaging in speech complaining of illegal employment practices within the department, which is protected by the First Amendment. Defendants contend that Smith was terminated for serious misconduct unrelated to his speech. Over several years, Smith had made hundreds of hours of secret recordings of conversations he had with co-workers and members of the public. Defendants assert that Smith was fired because the recordings violated County policy and the Washington Privacy Act, Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.030 (l)(b). They also assert that Smith committed an act of…