Michele Molinario and James Jellison present “First Amendment Issues in Law Enforcement” during the 2021 Public Practice Legal Seminar hosted by the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool, Arizona Municipal Risk Retention Pool, and Arizona Civil Deputies. On May 7, Michele, a partner in JSH’s Governmental Liability & Employment Law Trial Group, teamed up with Jim Jellison of Jellison Law Offices to co-present this 1.5 hour webinar for members of the three organizations. Together they discussed first amendment retaliation claims including protected activity, right to protest, public employee speech versus citizen use of speech, “fighting words,” and right to film police. Michele and Jim also provided tips for public entities to avoid unnecessary lawsuits and pitfalls associated with final policy-maker public statements, as well as examples of successful defense strategies and trainings to address each issue.
About Arizona Counties Insurance Pool and Arizona Municipal Risk Retention Pool:
The Arizona Counties Insurance Pool (ACIP) specializes in the risks and challenges unique to county government. ACIP is dedicated to providing long-term stability in coverages, protecting member resources by stabilizing risk costs in a reliable, economical, and beneficial manner; assisting members in development of improved risk management practices; providing members control over their management of risk; and aggressively defending unjustified claims.
The Arizona Municipal Risk Retention Pool (AMRRP) is a municipally-governed risk pool dedicated solely to coverage and risk management solutions for Arizona cities and towns. The Member-elected Board of Trustees supports delivery of the following Member Benefits to assure the advantage of pool membership far surpasses the services available through standard insurance.
Michele Molinario has dedicated her professional career in the areas of government liability and employment law. She represents private employers and public entities and their employees, including police officers, detention officers, emergency responders, public works directors, building inspectors and traffic engineers, etc. Michele has tried state and federal jury trials and bench trials, as well as administrative law hearings.
James Jellison is the founding partner of Jellison Law Offices in Phoenix. With over 30 years of experience, Jim focuses his practice in the areas of governmental liability and labor and employment defense.