J. Burk VOIGT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Richard D. SAVELL; Ronald J. Woods; Karrold Jackson; State of Alaska, Defendants-Appellees

J. Burk Voigt appeals from the dismissal of this action against Richard D. Saveli, Presiding Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of the Alaska Court System, and several senior members of the Alaska Comí; System’s administrative staff. Voigt contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants on his claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for unlaw ful discharge in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech and his Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process. He further contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants on his claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1985 in which he alleges that the defendants conspired to discriminate against non-residents of Aaska when hiring court personnel.

We affirm the district court’s judgment. With regard to the First Amendment claim, an application of the balancing test articulated in Pickering v. Bd. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563 , 88 S.Ct. 1731 , 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968), leads us to conclude that Voigt’s speech is not entitled to constitutional protection in the context of his wrongful discharge action. We need not reach the merits of the Fourteenth…