The 11th Circuit describes in soap opera detail the events leading to this lawsuit. Essentially, a police officer in a small department becomes friends with a council member who is running against the mayor which triggers the angst of both the city manager and the police chief (as a result of the mayor not being too happy). Thus, began a unified effort to remove the officer from the department and his job. The lower court concluded that the officer's resignation precluded suit for being discharged based on the officer's exercise of First Amendment rights, but the 11th Circuit concluded that the resignation was not truly voluntary. A quote from the case helps to explain the basis of the court's reasoning: "After Gomez informed Rodriguez that he was fired, he then offered Rodriguez the option to resign instead, allowing Rodriguez five minutes to leave the room to think about it. Rodriguez used the time to call the Police Benevolent Association ("PBA"). A staff attorney advised Rodriguez that "it would be easier to obtain future employment with a resignation on [his] record instead of a termination." Rodriguez returned to Gomez's office and after a short time, was presented with a resignation letter that Doral had prepared. 3 Rodriguez, who was "very upset and distraught," began crying and signed the letter under what he describes as "duress." At that time, Rodriguez thought he had no choice. On the day of the termination, Alfaro opined to Rodriguez that Rodriguez's termination was "politically motivated and . . . above [Alfaro's] payscale." " http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201511595.pdf Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Executive Director and General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc. 51 Monroe Street Suite 404 Rockville, Maryland 20850 202-466-5424 x7110 Direct: 202-742-1016 Cell: 240-876-6790 Plan ahead: IMLA's Annual Conference October 14- October 18, 2017 - Niagara, Ontario, Canada (Passport required) To register, go to: http://imla.org/events/conferences#registration IMLA's Annual Seminar and Section 1983 Defense Conference - April 20- April 23, 2018 Washington, DC