Background
Doctor Eric Cubin served on the Wyoming Board of Medicine and sent an email to state legislators criticizing the Wyoming Medical Society’s opposition to gender-affirming care legislation. Governor Mark Gordon removed Doctor Cubin from the board, citing concerns about impartiality. Doctor Cubin sued Governor Gordon under Section nineteen eighty-three alleging First Amendment retaliation.
The court’s reasoning
The court held that Doctor Cubin’s email addressed a matter of public concern because it contributed to legislative debate on a pending bill. The court found that balancing the government’s interest in efficiency against the employee’s speech rights was premature without discovery. However, the court affirmed qualified immunity because existing precedent did not clearly establish that such speech was protected at the time.
Cubin’s speech was thus “motiv[ated]” by “a broader public purpose” and addressed a matter of public concern.
What it means going forward
The case returns to the district court to proceed with discovery on the First Amendment claim, though the governor remains shielded from personal liability.