Court upholds firing of woman who criticized county's anti-Cuba policy
By The Associated Press
08.27.01
MIAMI — A federal appeals court panel has upheld the firing of a Miami-Dade County arts advisory board member who spoke for the inclusion of Cuban artists in a music symposium in spite of an anti-Cuba county policy.
Margaret "Peggi" McKinley, with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that the county violated her First Amendment right to free speech by dismissing her for speaking against a policy later declared unconstitutional.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, ruled Aug. 23 that McKinley's free-speech rights weren't affected.
McKinley had claimed she had a right to keep her appointed, unpaid position following her public dissent with the county policy. But the appeals court concluded she had no right to retain the post on the Film, Print and Broadcast Advisory Board after going against the views of those who appointed her.
The three-judge panel noted appointees in McKinley's position could be fired for no reason but cautioned that public employers do not have the power to fire all those who disagree with their policies.
McKinley was fired in 1997 after speaking against a 1996 ordinance that barred the county from doing business with anyone who had dealings with Cuba.
A federal judge stopped enforcement of the ordinance last year, and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decision erased the rule.