Whistleblowers Not Protected

The Supreme Court ruled today that public servants, when speaking in the capacity of their jobs, are not protected by the first amendment. "When public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties," Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his decision, "the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline."

"Of course a supervisor may take corrective action when such speech is inflammatory or misguided," Justice Stevens writes in a dissenting opinion in the 5-4 decision. "But what if it is just unwelcome speech because it reveals facts that the supervisor would rather not have anyone else discover?"

Recently appointed Chief Justice John Roberts then summarily fired Justices Ginsberg, Souter, Stevens, and Breyer, pointing out that their dissenting opinion was no longer protected speech and they were lucky to get the rest of the month's health insurance coverage.