# Richard S. Sprague v. F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, Jr., Individually > Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · December 6, 1976 · 546 F.2d 560 URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9463363 ## Case - **Full name:** Richard S. SPRAGUE, Appellant, v. F. Emmett FITZPATRICK, Jr., Individually, Appellee - **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - **Decided:** December 6, 1976 - **Citations:** 546 F.2d 560 - **Precedential status:** Published - **Opinion:** Concurrence by Seitz - **Judges:** III, Seitz, Hunter, Garth - **Cited by:** 101 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/9463363 ## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction) - holding that, although the Assistant District Attorney’s critical comments about the District Attorney touched on important issues that fell within the purview of the First Amendment, the Pickering balance did not tilt in his favor because “the effectiveness of the employment … - holding that, even though speech leading to public employee's discharge “concerned matters of grave public import," the balance weighed against finding that speech protected by the First Amendment when it had "completely undermined” the effectiveness of the employer-employee r… - finding that a First Assistant District Attorney’s public comments about the District Attorney “completely undermined” their working relationship, which was essential to the proper functioning of the office - finding that the “crucial variant in [the Pickering ] balance appears to have been the hierarchical proximity of the criticizing employee to the person or body criticized” ## Opinion text Chief Judge SEITZ concurs in the result because of the particular facts involved. He does so on the understanding that the majority is not holding, in effect, that the disruptive factor tips the scales in all such cases. --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9463363. Public record. Not legal advice.