Munroe v. Central Bucks School Dist. — First Amendment — affirmance — Cowen

If you don’t remember the name, you might remember the facts: Nathalie Munroe was a school teacher who became national news when she was fired for referring to her students in blog posts as “the jerk,” “an obnoxious kid,” “utterly loathsome,” and the like. After she was fired, she sued the district, claiming that her speech was protected by the First Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment against her, and today a divided Third Circuit panel affirmed, holding that her speech was not constitutionally protected.

Joining Cowen was Restani by designation, with Ambro dissenting. That division — a senior judge and a judge sitting by designation against an active judge — suggests the odds of rehearing en banc are higher than normal. Arguing counsel were Stanley Cheiken for the fired teacher and appellate lawyer Kimberly Boyer-Cohen of Marshall Dennehey for the district.