The following excerpt is from Chateaubriand v. Gaspard, 97 F.3d 1218 (9th Cir. 1996):
Courts look to "the content, form, and context of a given statement" to resolve this issue. Id. at 147-48, 103 S.Ct. at 1690. "Employee expression that can be fairly considered as relating to a matter of political, social, or other concern to the community may be characterized as speech involving a matter of public concern." Voigt v. Savell, 70 F.3d 1552, 1559 (9th Cir.1995) (citing Connick, 461 U.S. at 146, 103 S.Ct. at 1689-90), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1826, 134 L.Ed.2d 931 (1996).
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.