Law & psychiatry: whistle-blowers and the first amendment: protecting public employees in psychiatric facilities

This column describes a case in which a psychiatrist employed at a state psychiatric hospital wrote a series of memos to the hospital board, state officials, and a newspaper describing poor-quality care at the hospital. When his contract was not renewed soon thereafter, he filed suit against the state and two state officials alleging violation of his First Amendment rights of free speech. At a trial in 2004 a jury found that the director of the state's Division of Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health had retaliated against the psychiatrist by declining to renew his contract, thus violating his First Amendment rights. Implications of the case for staff in public mental health systems are discussed.