Moats v. Jarrard

Issues: (1) Whether this court’s Pickering-Garcetti framework applies to a First Amendment claim by an applicant for volunteer religious work in a local jail’s program for inmates; (2) whether, if the Pickering-Garcetti framework does not apply, a jail policy that lacks standards compliant with the First Amendment “unbridled discretion” doctrine is a basis for a damages claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, where an official’s decision under the policy is made within a reasonable time and for a reason that does not violate the First Amendment; and (3) whether it was clearly established that the Pickering-Garcetti framework did not apply, and that petitioners’ conduct violated clearly established law, thereby justifying denial of qualified immunity.