View Summary
BARRY ALLEN ANDREW DESPAIN MICHAEL McQUILLEN JOHN TOWNS STANLEY ALMON and JAY JENKINS Plaintiffs
vs.
CITY OF MARIETTA JACK CRANE Individually and in his Official Capacity as City Manager; KEMP DICKERSON Individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of Electrical Distribution of the Board of Marietta Lights & Water; and LARRY THOMPSON Individually and in his official capacity as Personnel Manager of the City of Marietta; GENE CANTOR Individually and in his Official Capacity as Safety Officer for the Electrical Distribution of the Marietta Board of Lights and Water; DR. DAVID WILLIAMS RUPPERT RANES Individually and in his official capacity as Assistant Chief of Police of the City of Marietta; and the MARIETTA BOARD OF LIGHTS AND WATER Defendants
Click Here to Read the Full Case Summary
Issues:
Public employees, policy and procedure, marijuana, safety, drug testing, Fourth and 14
Case Summary:
Several former employees of the City of Marietta challenge the city's drug testing policy. The employees filed suit, after they were dismissed for posting positive results in a drug screen. The former employees contend the testing program violated the Fourth and 14
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
This is the first judicial review of this case.
Outcome:
The city wins. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, granted the city's motion for summary judgment on the primary complaints. The court ruled that the city's drug testing program did not violate constitutional provisions. Although the test could be considered a search, the court ruled the testing procedure was not unreasonable. The court also ruled the employees received due process during the incident.