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Supreme Court to Determine Who Has Burden of Proof in Termination Cases
Michael Lackie, at the direction of the PORAC Legal Defense Fund has filed a "friend of the Court" brief with the California Supreme Court in Fukuda v. City of Angels Camp.
Timothy Fukuda, a 13 year police officer with the City of Angels Camp, was terminated after assisting another agency in a high-speed pursuit and performing a "rolling roadblock" in violation of department rules. Following an administrative hearing, a hearing officer and the city council sustained the termination. Fukuda appealed to the superior court. The court found that the city had the burden of proving that the weight of the evidence presented at the administrative hearing supported the findings. The superior court ruled that the termination constituted excessive discipline and remanded the case back to the city to fix a more appropriate penalty.
The City appealed the superior court ruling to the 3rd Appellate District Court. The Appellate Court affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that "the administrative entity's burden of proof before the trial court remains to prove the weight of the evidence supports termination of an employee."
The City appealed to the California Supreme Court. The City is arguing to place the burden of proof on the employee to show that the agency abused its discretion. This case will have a statewide impact on future termination cases and that is the reason the Legal Defense Fund of PORAC is interested in the outcome of this
case.
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