John Cannici v. Village of Melrose Park, Illinois, et al.

John Cannici is a firefighter. After his employment was terminated by a government board, he sought to have it overturned on two grounds. First, his due process rights were violated because the board’s legal counsel was biased, providing legal counsel to the Board and at the same time providing legal guidance to the prosecutor ex parte to help with the prosecution of the case. Second, Cannici’s equal protection rights were violated because other similarly situated firefighters, who hired the Mayor of the Village of Melrose Park as their attorney, were not terminated under the same municipal ordinance though he was. Cannici’s federal claims were dismissed on the grounds he was not entitled to due process predeprivation because he was challenging improper conduct by an official occurring in a state procedure, which constituted “random and unauthorized” not protected by the Due Process Clause. His equal protection claim was denied on the grounds an individual cannot bring an Equal Protection Claim in the employment context. The questions presented here are: 1. Whether the Due Process Clause requires a government agency to provide due process before depriving a citizen of his property where the