Laborers International Union etc. v. County of Riverside CA4/2

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Samuel Merenda was employed as an investigator by the office of the

Riverside County Public Defender (OPD). His employment was terminated after he

wrote a memorandum damaging his credibility as an investigator. In the concluding

sentence of the memorandum—which documented his conversation with a witness in a

murder case—he wrote: “Let me know if you want an ‘interview’ report and I’ll get you

one, minus the confession.” On appeal, Merenda asserts he did not expect a “one-

sentence joke . . . to cost him his career.”

Merenda appeals from the judgment denying his petition for writ of mandate. We

find that substantial evidence supports the trial court’s ruling. We affirm the judgment.

II

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Merenda served in the Air Force and then worked for the San Bernardino County

Sheriff for 20 years. In 2003, he began working for the OPD. His employment was

terminated on August 23, 2012.

As an investigator, Merenda’s duties included locating and investigating

witnesses, preparing written reports, and testifying. He prepared two types of written

reports: 1) investigative, or interview, reports, and 2) confidential memoranda.…