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STANLEY SAAVEDRA, Plaintiff-Appellant
vs.
ALBUQUERQUE THE CITY OF; ALBUQUERQUE PERSONNEL BOARD; THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE EMPLOYEE HEALTH CENTER; ARTHUR A. BLUMENFELD Chief Administrative Officer; LINDA LOGAN-CONDON Former Chairperson of the Personnel Board; T. ZANE REEVES Personnel Hearing Officer, Defendants-Appellees.
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Issues:
Due process, public employee, policy and procedure, unreasonable search, marijuana, arbitration.
Case Summary:
Stanley Saavedra, a former firefighter for the City of Albuquerque, appeals a lower court's ruling in his suit against the city. Saavedra was dismissed from his position after he posted a positive result for marijuana in a urine test. Saavedra's supervisors order the test on grounds of reasonable suspicion. Saavedra was involved in a confrontation with a supervisor was behaving in an erratic manner. Saavedra filed suit against the city, arguing the city's testing policies violated constitutionally protected rights. The city responded with a motion for summary judgment.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
A federal district court granted the city's motion for summary judgment concerning the issues of constitutional violations and dismissed the balance of Saavedra's complaint. Saavedra now appeals.
Outcome:
Saavedra loses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the ruling to the lower court. The court of appeals noted that Saavedra received due process and that there was no evidence of judicial err in the lower jurisdiction's ruling.