On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Files Lawsuit Alleging that Delaware Governor Illegally Punished Police Captain for Political Views
WILMINGTON, Del.--Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed suit in federal court today on behalf of the First Amendment right of a state police captain not to be punished in the workplace for his political views. Affiliate attorney Thomas Stephen Neuberger is representing Capt. Gregory A. Warren of the Delaware State Police in his lawsuit against Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner and Colonel L. Aaron Chaffinch, superintendent of the Delaware State Police. The lawsuit challenges Minner's alleged policy of applying a political litmus test to all promotions within the State Police and using it as a place for political patronage.The complaint charges that despite being universally deemed qualified for promotion to the rank of Major in the Delaware State Police, Warren, a Republican, on orders from Gov. Minner, a Democrat, has been permanently barred five times from merit-protected promotions because he supported and voted for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the 2000 election. Warren, a 20-year veteran of the State Police, currently holds the rank of Captain and serves as the Director of Training for the State Police. He has been promoted three times since 1991, each time after achieving the highest score in the state on the promotional examination. There are five officers in the rank of Major in the State Police. The rank is a non-policymaking, merit protected position that is insulated from political interference. Despite this, Gov. Minner has made it clear to Col. Chaffinch that Warren is not to be promoted. Institute attorneys argue that state law and police regulations bar political patronage and ban the governor from any involvement at all in any trooper promotions, except that of Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel. All off-duty troopers are also permitted to vote for the political candidate of their choice, to belong to any political party, and even privately to engage in political activity. The lawsuit seeks an order requiring Capt. Warren's promotion to Major and an injunction barring the governor from interfering in the promotion process for any State Trooper from the rank of Major on down to Trooper.
"There's no better time than now to make sure our policemen are being treated fairly," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The First Amendment protects public servants like Capt. Warren from suffering retaliation for expressing their political views on their own time."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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