Candidate’s firing will be upheld by court
Former assistant public defender filed a lawsuit arguing illegal dismissal
A federal court has upheld the firing of an assistant public defender who ran to replace her old boss last year and lost, finding that statements she made on the campaign trail were not protected by the First Amendment.
Ruby Green, one of three candidates who ran for the Democratic nomination to replace Howard Finkelstein as Public Defender, now works for the Broward State Attorney’s Office. She came in second to the winner, Gordon Weekes, who had been endorsed by Finkelstein.
Finkelstein fired Green the day after the primary.
Green filed a federal lawsuit arguing that her dismissal illegally punished her for exercising her First Amendment right to criticize the office.
But U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said comments Green made on the campaign trail were not entitled to constitutional free speech protection.
A key issue was an appearance Green made on a podcast during the campaign.
“We need change at the Broward County Public Defender’s Office because a Black face in a high place doesn’t always want to advance the race,” she said, an apparent swipe at her opponent, Weekes. Both Weekes and Green are Black.
Green also criticized Finkelstein for not allowing employees to march in support of Black Lives Matter. The protests were taking place at the height of the COVID pandemic, and Finkelstein said at the time he could not justify demonstrations that violated social distancing rules.
In all, the judge found Green’s statements “had the ability to impair the efficient functioning of the Office.”
In an interview after the firing, Finkelstein said he made the decision to fire Green on his own, and that Weekes was not involved.
Efforts to reach Green for comment on Friday were not successful.