DISCLAIMER:  Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
                        as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.

191213P.pdf   06/26/2020  Robert Curtis  v.  Christian County, Missouri
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  19-1213
                          and No:  19-1214
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield   
   [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Colloton and Stras, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Civil rights. In an action brought by two discharged deputy 
   sheriffs alleging they were discharged for political reasons in violation 
   of their First Amendment rights, the district court denied the Sheriff's 
   motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Held: political 
   loyalty is an appropriate requirement for employment under Missouri law; 
   under Missouri law, the deputies are the alter ego of the Sheriff and 
   therefore hold policymaking positions for which political loyalty is 
   necessary to effective job performance; as a result, the Sheriff did not 
   violate the former deputies' constitutional rights by discharging them; 
   because the Sheriff did not violate plaintiffs' rights, the County is also 
   entitled to summary judgment on the claims against it; reversed and 
   remanded.