Castle v. Appalachian Tech. Coll., No. 10-11546

Action Alleging Wrongful Suspension of Nursing Student

In Castle v. Appalachian Tech. Coll., No. 10-11546, an action by a former nursing student, alleging that her suspension from the Licensed Practical Nursing Program at Appalachian Technical College violated her free speech and due process rights, because defendants allegedly: 1) suspended plaintiff in retaliation for reporting one of her instructors for falsifying attendance records, in violation of the First Amendment; and 2) suspended her without a meaningful opportunity to respond to the charges against her, judgment for defendants is affirmed where the court could not say the district court erred in deciding that, for qualified immunity purposes, school administrators in their position could have reasonably believed that suspending plaintiff would not violate her First Amendment rights under the facts of this case.

As the court wrote:  "Sara Castle, a former nursing student, brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that her suspension from the Licensed Practical Nursing Program ("the Nursing Program") at Appalachian Technical College ("ATC"), violated her free speech and due process rights."

Related Resources

Read the Eleventh Circuit's Decision in Castle v. Appalachian Tech. Coll., No. 10-11546