U.S. Appeals Court: RETALIATION.

Hudson v. Norris, 227 F.3d 1047 (8th Cir. 2000). An employee of a state corrections department sued department officials under [sections] 1983 and a state civil rights act alleging that the officials retaliated against him for giving testimony in a lawsuit between a former coworker and the department. The district court denied summary judgment to the officials in their personal capacities on the First Amendment claim and they appealed. The appeals court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The appeals court held that the employee provided sufficient evidence of a causal link between his testimony and the adverse employment actions he suffered, as required to make a case of unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment. The court also found that a reasonable finder of fact could conclude that a deputy director, prison warden, assistant warden, and internal affairs investigator unlawfully retaliated against the employee and were not entitled to qualified immunity on either the First Amendment clai m or the free speech claim under the state civil rights act. The court found that the reasons given by the officials for taking adverse actions against the employee shortly after his testimony were false, and that the employee's work record had been exemplary. (Arkansas Department of Correction)