Post by Logan on Jan 30, 2016 2:32:54 GMT -6
NC Supreme Court upholds former Mecklenburg sheriff’s decision to fire deputies
The N.C. Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of former Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey after four deputies filed a trio of lawsuits claiming they were fired because they did not contribute to his re-election campaign.
The state’s highest court last month heard arguments in the case – the result of a series of accusations from Ivan McLaughlin, Timothy Stanley, Justin Lloyd and Terri Young, who said in court documents they were wrongfully terminated after Bailey’s victory in 2010.
Bailey, a Democrat, was running his first campaign for sheriff after he was appointed to the role in 2008 to replace Jim Pendergraph. He didn’t run again in 2014 and ended 20 years with the Sheriff’s Office. Young and McLaughlin, who was a detention center officer and not a sworn deputy, were Republicans.
The legal conflict raised questions about the extent to which sheriffs can fire their employees at will even if those workers are on the county payroll. The Supreme Court gave an answer Friday when it affirmed that sheriffs are constitutional officers with exclusive authority over their employees.
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article57362858.html
The N.C. Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of former Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey after four deputies filed a trio of lawsuits claiming they were fired because they did not contribute to his re-election campaign.
The state’s highest court last month heard arguments in the case – the result of a series of accusations from Ivan McLaughlin, Timothy Stanley, Justin Lloyd and Terri Young, who said in court documents they were wrongfully terminated after Bailey’s victory in 2010.
Bailey, a Democrat, was running his first campaign for sheriff after he was appointed to the role in 2008 to replace Jim Pendergraph. He didn’t run again in 2014 and ended 20 years with the Sheriff’s Office. Young and McLaughlin, who was a detention center officer and not a sworn deputy, were Republicans.
The legal conflict raised questions about the extent to which sheriffs can fire their employees at will even if those workers are on the county payroll. The Supreme Court gave an answer Friday when it affirmed that sheriffs are constitutional officers with exclusive authority over their employees.
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article57362858.html