Protecting Religious Freedom and Freedom of Speech

Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Charles LiMandri with Firefighters from Station 5

When they went to their superiors and the union steward, and complained, they were essentially told, "Too bad." At the parade, the four fire fighters were sexually harassed, just like they knew they would be. When the City of San Diego failed to protect them, these four firefighters turned to me, to argue their case in court.

I am no stranger to fighting for the rights of people in the United States. These challenging cases are necessary to protect the deeply held beliefs of people throughout this country. Starting in 2004, I was instrumental in taking the San Diego Mount Soledad Cross case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and winning on behalf of the public interest.

Fighting for the Rights of Public Employees

With total expenses approximating a million dollars, I recently finished a nine-day trial on these three claims against the City of San Diego:

• Failure to prevent sexual harassment
• Retaliation
• Violation of freedom of speech under the California Constitution

In the first claim, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the sexual harassment claim. The vote was eight to four in favor of the firefighters, but a civil verdict requires nine votes. Even the three alternate jurors were with the firefighters.

In the second claim, it was argued that a lesbian Battalion Chief began retaliating against a firefighter, who complained about participating in the parade, by impeding the firefighter's promotion to captain. After I brought the retaliation claim, the retaliation ceased.

The third claim sought a court order to prevent the city from ordering firefighters to participate in future gay pride parades against their will. A year into the case, just before the trial, the city announced that its policy was changing to rely only on volunteers. This is what the firefighters had requested prior to the legal case. The City has never admitted any wrongdoing.

The trial court essentially held that government employees do not have the same level of constitutional protection as do private citizens when exercising their free speech rights about public issues on the job. The court ruled that the firefighters' personal objections were not a matter of public interest and, therefore, not entitled to constitutional protection. We are going to appeal that ruling since it would basically mean that any government employee could be ordered to participate in any Gay Pride Parade at any time.

I am optimistic about a positive outcome for the retrial on January 16, 2009.

My commitment to these issues is considerable. Since I took on the case in 2007, I have spent nearly a million dollars in court costs and attorney's fees. Your support at this point in the case is invaluable.

I remember how many legal obstacles I encountered and overcame regarding the Mount Soledad Cross case. With your help, I believe that we can be successful here, first with the sexual harassment claim in January and second with the appeal of the free speech claim.

Support traditional family values, free speech and religious freedom. Donate to the Firefighters' Litigation Fund.

Please visit our blog www.firefightersdefensefundblog.com and our main site at www.limandrilaw.com.

Charles S. LiMandri, Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 9120
16236 San Dieguito Road
Suite 3-15
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Phone: 858-759-9930
Fax: 858-759-9938
Email: Charles S. LiMandri

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Based in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Attorney Charles S. LiMandri provides pro bono legal representation for plaintiffs in free speech and religious freedom cases.