First Amendment Retaliation Case Dismissed

District Court Judge Peter Sheridan dismissed a First Amendment retaliation case in the United States District Court. Initially, to resolve a disagreement as to which union represented certain County law enforcement officers, the County filed a petition before the Public Employment Relations Commission. One of the police unions, PBA 54, responded with a lawsuit against the County claiming that the petition was a vehicle to discourage PBA 54 and its members from exercising their Constitutional rights of free speech and freedom of association. Partners Angelo J. Genova and Sandro Polledri filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of the County. Judge Sheridan, sitting in Trenton, agreed that the County did not retaliate against PBA 54 for exercising their Constitutional rights and granted the motion to dismiss.