Blogging Teacher Loses Appeal Over Firing

Marshall Dennehey won a Third Circuit victory over a former teacher who appealed a summary judgment ruling in favor of the teacher's Pennsylvania school district. The teacher was fired for performance reasons but claimed she was fired in violation of the First Amendment's protection over free speech when she unwittingly allowed crude and profane comments she blogged about her students and colleagues to leak into the public realm. The Third Circuit affirmed the trial court's ruling that her speech wasn't protected, leaving no genuine issue of fact for deliberation by a jury.