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Patrick Boyd v. Mississippi Department of Public Safety, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 18-60245 · judgment October 3, 2018

Certiorari denied · February 19, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Question presented

Whether law enforcement and governmental supervisors, by mere announcement of some collective fear, without any factual basis whatsoever, may override the First Amendment protections of an actively serving officer or employees commenting on matters of public concern.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Shirley Payne
Horn & Payne, PLLC

For respondent
Harold Edward Pizzetta III
Office of the Mississippi Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 19 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 30 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019.
  3. Jan 17 2019
    Waiver of right of respondents Mississippi Department of Public Safety to respond filed.
  4. Jan 02 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 4, 2019)