City of Jackson v. Moore
| Docket Number: | 2010-CC-01057-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-CC-01057-COA |
|
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-22-2012 Opinion Author: Irving, P.J. Holding: Reversed and rendered |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Civil Service Commission - Termination of employment - Section 21-31-23 - Good faith for cause Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton, Maxwell and Fair, JJ. Concur in Part, Concur in Result 1: Russell, J., Concurs in Part Without Separate Written Opinion Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - OTHER |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-03-2010 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: William Joseph Lutz Disposition: AFFIRMED DECISION OF JACKSON CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Case Number: 251-08-311CIV |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | City of Jackson, Mississippi |
PIETER J. TEEUWISSEN
LARA E. GILL |
|
|
| Appellee: | Slade Moore | THOMAS J. BELLINDER DENNIS C. SWEET III | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
|
| Topic: | Civil Service Commission - Termination of employment - Section 21-31-23 - Good faith for cause |
| Summary of the Facts: | Officer Slade Moore was terminated from the Jackson Police Department for using excessive force in making arrests. Officer Moore requested that the Jackson Civil Service Commission review his termination. The Commission reversed Officer Moore’s termination, and the City appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The City argues that the Commission substituted its judgment for the City’s. Section 21-31-23 provides that the Commission’s review of a city’s decision to remove, suspend, demote, or discharge a civil-service employee is limited to determining whether the disciplinary action was or was not made for political or religious reasons and was or was not made in good faith for cause. The Commission determined that Officer Moore should be reinstated. However, the Commission did not address whether the City’s decision to terminate Officer Moore’s employment was or was not made in good faith for cause, nor did it address whether the City’s decision was or was not religiously or politically motivated. The Commission concluded that because the City had admitted that Officer Moore’s actions were within the scope of his employment and, thus, not malicious, Officer Moore’s termination “was not supported by evidence.” Since the Commission’s decision to reinstate Officer Moore was not made in good faith for cause, the Commission’s order reinstating Officer Moore and the circuit court’s judgment affirming that order is reversed and rendered. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
