Other decisions have held that superiors would be entitled to qualified immunity unless they could not clearly predict that they would lose when courts employed the Pickering balancing.

Teachers... speak and write for a living and are eager to protect both public and private interests in freedom to stake out controversial positions.

In addition, suits against state officials for damages or retrospective relief are also barred, as they are considered suits against the state.

"'Because no bright-line standard puts the reasonable public employer on notice of a constitutional violation, the employer is entitled to immunity except in the extraordinary case where [the] Pickering balance [test] would lead to the inevitable conclusion that the [adverse action] was unlawful"'; since transfers in sheriff's department were based on concerns that ability of …

Whether Wright did, in fact, commit perjury "is a matter for the Department to work out as an original matter, and then perhaps for a court hearing on an action under state law."

State university official sued fordischarging professor who accused colleague of plagiarism is entitled to qualified immunity since no case has ever characterized such speech as a matter of public concern

[CITATION] The Journal of College and University Law

[BOOK] Public Employee Discharge and Discipline