Today our firm joined with other co-counsel to file the following documents in the case of Sergeant Gary A. Stein v. Colonel C.S. Dowling, et al. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on behalf of plaintiff Sergeant Gary A. Stein:
Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
This is a case about protecting a U.S. Marine against unconstitutional discharge in retaliation for protected speech. Sergeant Gary Stein has served with honor in the Marine Corps for almost nine years, yet he faces the imminent prospect of unfairly expedited proceedings to give him an “Other Than Honorable” discharge, with all its attendant stigma, solely because he has exercised his First Amendment right to speak on matters of public concern in ways that his superiors do not approve, particularly a Facebook page. The temporary restraining order was requested to stop and enjoin defendants from proceeding with administrative separation proceedings on April 5, 2012.
An order denying plaintiff’s motion for temporary restraining order without prejudice was issued on April 4, 2012 by the district court judge.
We are working in this case as co-counsel with
Gary Kreep and Nathan Oleson of the U.S. Justice Foundation
Mark Brewer of Brewer & Pritchard,
Stewart Rhodes of Oath Keepers, and
David Loy of the San Diego ACLU.
“Surprising Coalition of Free Speech Advocates Join to Protect Marine’s Rights” (San Diego ACLU article disscusing the Stein case)