NY court officer sues after dismissal over derogatory posts about VP Harris, refugees

A New York court officer sued the state judiciary Friday, seeking to reverse his dismissal over Facebook comments that were found by court officials to evince bias against women and refugees, among others.

Dave Pearl, 53, who was most recently assigned to the Westchester County courthouse, argued that his social media comments reflected legitimate political discourse. In a trio of comments, Pearl opposed Syrian refugees and used a derogatory term for sex workers to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris.

In June, Justice Norman St. George, the court system's top administrative judge outside of New York City, opted to fire Pearl, concurring with a hearing officer that his remarks had run afoul of the court system's standards of conduct.

Report finds terms in comments 'offensive'

In a report to St. George, the hearing officer deemed "offensive" Pearl's use of the derogatory term to describe the vice president. Further, the report faulted his use of the term "savages" to describe those who protested in the streets after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Another comment describing the influx of Syrian refugees included the remark, "2nd Amendment baby, i'm ready." The hearing officer said the injection of gun rights into a discussion about refugees "gives rise to the inference that [Pearl] would avail himself of his 2nd Amendment rights should Syrian refugees arrive in his town."

As part of the disciplinary process, a hearing officer conducts a disciplinary hearing and prepares a report and recommendation for the administrative judges, who make the final determination about an employee's fate.

Dismissed court officer points to the First Amendment

Pearl, a 22-year veteran of the court system, argued in his lawsuit that not only was the speech he engaged in protected by the First Amendment, but that he has a reputation for "not being biased, racist, sexist or violent."

He dismissed his usage of the derogatory term in reference to Harris as mere repetition of an utterance by the radio host Rush Limbaugh, whom Pearl noted had been "awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

"Repeating an accusation made by a well-known radio host...is not a biased statement," he said.

Pearl further argued that by the "savages" comment he was not referring to Black protesters but specifically to "Antifa," the loosely affiliated group of left-wing activists and anti-fascist demonstrators. Because of this, such a moniker was "not a biased statement," he said.

He also said it was "difficult to understand" his invocation of the Second Amendment as an exhortation to "shoot any refugees who came into his neighborhood."

Free speech not without limits, report says

The hearing officer noted that while a government officer's off-duty comments made in a private forum are generally protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, that right is not without its limits. He observed that even off-duty speech made in private can call into question "the fairness and independence of the courts."

In a statement, Lucian Chalfen, the chief spokesperson for the court system, said that St. George "clearly... felt that termination was the appropriate action" in this case.

In 2020, the court system released a report examining the extent of racial bias in court operations, finding that there is "a second-class system of justice for people of color in New York State." The report followed, in part, outrage over a Brooklyn court officer posting a meme on Facebook showing former President Barack Obama hanging from a noose.

In response to the report, the court system's top two judges issued an anti-discrimination policy reaffirming a "zero tolerance" approach to bias and discrimination in the courts.

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can find him on Twitter at @quasiasher or send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NY court officer sues after being fired over derogatory Facebook posts