# Chalk v. United States District Court Central District of California

> Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · February 26, 1988 · 840 F.2d 701

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8958194

## Case

- **Full name:** Vincent L. CHALK v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, ORANGE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, also known as Orange County Department of Education, and Robert Peterson, in his official capacity, Real Parties in Interest/Respondents
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- **Decided:** February 26, 1988
- **Citations:** 840 F.2d 701; 1 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1210; 45 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 37,782; 46 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 279; 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 19520
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Sneed
- **Judges:** Poole, Skopil, Sneed
- **Cited by:** 12 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8958194

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- finding that deprivation of opportunity to teach children, a source of personal satisfaction and joy to the plaintiff, was a cognizable non-compensable psychological injury sufficient to constitute irreparable harm
- holding that the contents of the mail- in Federal Form are prescribed partly by statute and otherwise entrusted to the administrative judgment of the EAC, a federal agency

## Opinion text

SNEED, Circuit Judge,
concurring separately:
I concur in Judge Poole’s opinion. Confronted with some uncertainties about scientific truth, judges, perhaps above all others, should act on the basis of that which is known, or, where this is not possible, on the basis of that which those best qualified to speak say is known. Judge Poole has set out clearly what those best qualified say they know, and we have no choice but to accept their version of the truth. We can neither await ultimate validation nor reject their version on the basis of our awareness that the truths of medical science are frequently revised in the light of new data.
No doubt the possible catastrophic consequences of a substantial alteration of the current truth unduly influenced the district judge. His calculus was impermissibly flawed, however. Chalk, on the basis of current, and perhaps permanent, truth, demonstrated high probability of success, and on the basis of the same truth showed that the balance of hardships tipped sharply in his favor. This was his burden and he successfully carried it.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8958194. Public record. Not legal advice.