Fred Hansen, Joanne Hansen, Daryl Sparks and Betty Tueller v. Randall White and Bear Lake County

Appellants Fred Hansen, Joanne Hansen, and Betty Tueller were employees of the Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Department. Upon the election of a new sheriff in 1983, appellants were given written notice that they were being terminated. Appellants brought suit in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 charging that their terminations were in retaliation for their support of another sheriff candidate and that they were not afforded procedural due process in the form of a hearing prior to being fired. Pendent to their federal claims, appellants brought a cause of action for breach of contract under Idaho state law. On the second day of trial the district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants Bear Lake County and its sheriff Randall White on the due process claim and the state contract claim. Appellants’ remaining claim that they were terminated in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights was tried and submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict in favor of the defendants.

Following oral argument before this Court, we certified certain questions concerning the interpretation of Idaho law to the Idaho Supreme Court pursuant to Idaho App.R.…