Teresa Wagner v. Carolyn Jones, 664 F.3d 259

Wagner, a registered Republican with socially conservative ties, sought full-time and adjunct LAWR positions at Iowa Law School in 2007; the hiring process involved a Faculty Appointments Committee and Dean Jones.
The Committee interviewed Wagner and other candidates; Wagner’s interview was reportedly strong, but the Committee recommended Williamson for two full-time LAWR slots, and Wagner was not hired.
Dean Jones attended the January 25, 2007 faculty vote and later hired two adjuncts with less experience than Wagner, while Wagner was not interviewed for adjunct positions.
Wagner applied for adjunct LAWR roles several times (Feb 2007, Mar 2007, Jun 2008, Jan 2009) and was repeatedly rejected without interviews; she alleged her political beliefs influenced these decisions.
The district court granted summary judgment to Jones in her official and individual capacities; this appeal challenges the individual-capacity qualified-immunity ruling and argues a First Amendment political-discrimination claim.
The court reverses, finding genuine issues of material fact and that Jones is not entitled to qualified immunity as to Wagner’s First Amendment claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Jones violated Wagner’s First Amendment rights	Wagner asserts discriminatory denial of hire based on political beliefs	Jones followed faculty recommendations and hiring policy	Yes; genuine issues of material fact exist about motivation.
Mt. Healthy defense viability	Even if discriminatory motive existed, Wagner would prevail absent non-discriminatory reasons	Jones has non-discriminatory reasons supported by faculty process	Question for jury; Mt. Healthy defense not clearly exonerating Jones.
Clearly established law for qualified immunity	Law prohibiting hiring decisions based on political beliefs was clearly established	Dean Jones acted within customary policy	Not entitled to qualified immunity; right was clearly established.

Rutan v. Republican Party of Ill., 497 U.S. 62 (1990) (First Amendment rights prohibit basing hiring decisions on political beliefs or associations unless policymaking/confidential roles.)
Bd. of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 169 (1972) (Academic freedom and protected beliefs in hiring decisions.)
Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347 (1976) (Political affiliations may not determine employment in most public positions.)
Mount Healthy City School Dist. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977) (Mt. Healthy burden-shifting framework for First Amendment discrimination claims.)
Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635 (1987) (Standard for clearly established law in qualified immunity analysis.)
Davison v. City of Minneapolis, Minn., 490 F.3d 648 (2007) (First Amendment retaliation framework and burden-shift principles in public employment.)
Hughes v. Stottlemyre, 506 F.3d 675 (2007) (Adopts Mt. Healthy–like framework for First Amendment retaliation in the circuit.)
Davison v. City of Minneapolis, Minn., 490 F.3d 648 (2007) (First Amendment retaliation framework applied to employment actions.)
Okruhlik v. Univ. of Ark., 395 F.3d 872 (2005) (Limited judicial review of academic decisions; respect for academic judgment.)