Potts v. County of Trinity, et al, No. 2:2012cv01793 - Document 27 (E.D. Cal. 2012)

Court Description: STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 11/6/2012 RESTRAINING and ENJOINING Defendants from interfering with the exercise of constitutional free speech rights of employees of the Trinity County Sheriffs Office; ORDERING Defendants to expunge the Written Reprimand issued to Mark Potts on 2/6/2012; ORDERING Defendants to immediately cease and desist from applying Sections 340.3.5(m) and (aa) and 1058.4(b) and (e) of the Trinity County Sheriffs Office Policy Manual to letters to the editor written by employees of the Trinity County Sheriffs Office; ORDERING the Defendants to deliver to Plaintiff's counsel payment in the amount of ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($120,000.00) for Plaintiffs reasonable attorneys fees and costs. (Michel, G)

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Potts v. County of Trinity, et al 1 2 3 4 5 Doc. 27 KEKER & VAN NEST LLP AJAY S. KRISHNAN - # 222476 akrishnan@kvn.com SHILPI AGARWAL - # 270749 sagarwal@kvn.com 633 Battery Street San Francisco, CA 94111-1809 Telephone: 415 391 5400 Facsimile: 415 397 7188 6 7 8 9 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LINDA LYE - # 215584 39 Drumm Street San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: 415 621 2493 Facsimile: 415 255 1478 10 Attorneys for Plaintiff MARK POTTS 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 14 SACRAMENTO DIVISION 15 MARK POTTS, Case No. 2:12-cv-01793-JAM-CMK 16 Plaintiff, STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT 17 v. Date Filed: July 6, 2012 18 19 COUNTY OF TRINITY; TRINITY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE; and BRUCE HANEY, Sheriff of Trinity County, Trial Date: 20 Defendants. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 [PROPOSED] STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT Case No. 2:12-cv-01793-JAM-CMK 699384.01 Dockets.Justia.com 1 2 3 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58, and the agreement of the parties, the Court hereby enters final judgment in this matter as follows: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff’s 4 Office, and Sheriff Bruce Haney (“Defendants” collectively), their officers, agents, servants, 5 employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with 6 Defendants, are hereby restrained and enjoined from interfering with the exercise of constitutional 7 free speech rights of employees of the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Specifically, Defendants 8 County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff’s Department, and Sheriff Bruce Haney, their officers, 9 agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting by, through, under, or in 10 11 12 13 concert with Defendants, are hereby RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED as follows: 1. Defendants shall permanently expunge the Written Reprimand issued to Mark Potts on February 6, 2012. 2. Defendants shall immediately cease and desist from applying Sections 340.3.5(m) 14 and (aa) and 1058.4(b) and (e) of the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office Policy Manual to letters to 15 the editor written by employees of the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, so long as the letters are in 16 the writer’s own name; address general policy matters, not specific official actions; and 17 specifically state that the views expressed in the letters are the writer’s personal views and not 18 those of the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Letters that “address general policy matters” 19 include, but are not limited to, those that comment on the wisdom or propriety of laws, and those 20 that discuss the general role of various agencies or governmental entities or actors in achieving 21 public policy objectives. Letters that address “specific official actions” include, but are not 22 limited to, those that refer, by name or title, to a particular person employed by the Trinity County 23 Sheriff’s Office, and those that identify a particular investigation or enforcement effort in which 24 the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office is or has engaged. 25 3. Defendants shall deliver to Plaintiff’s counsel payment in the amount of ONE 26 HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($120,000.00) for Plaintiffs’ reasonable 27 attorneys’ fees and costs. Payment shall be made to the American Civil Liberties Union 28 Foundation of Northern California within 60 days of the Court’s entry of judgment. Plaintiff 1 [PROPOSED] STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT Case No. 2:12-cv-01793-JAM-CMK 699384.01 1 shall make no further demands or claims for attorneys’ fees or costs in connection with this 2 matter. 3 4 4. No bond is necessary in this case because Defendants’ compliance with this injunction would not create a risk of monetary loss. 5 6 DATED this 6th day of November, 2012. 7 /s/ John A. Mendez____________ John A. Mendez United States District Court Judge 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 [PROPOSED] STIPULATED FINAL JUDGMENT Case No. 2:12-cv-01793-JAM-CMK 699384.01

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