Harrington v. Harris

                    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                         For the Fifth Circuit



                               No. 95-20751


        EUGENE M. HARRINGTON; MARTIN LEVY; THOMAS KLEVEN,

                                                   Plaintiffs-Appellees,


                                  VERSUS

                      WILLIAM H. HARRIS, ET AL.,

                                                               Defendants,

                   JAMES M. DOUGLAS; CALIPH JOHNSON;
                       TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY,


                                                  Defendants-Appellants.



           Appeal from the United States District Court
                 for the Southern District of Texas


                            March 14, 1997
Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, DeMOSS, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.

DeMOSS, Circuit Judge:

     In this proceeding tried by consent before a magistrate judge,

the jury found that three white law school professors, Plaintiffs

Eugene M. Harrington, Martin Levy, and Thomas Kleven, of state-

supported Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of

Law in Houston, Texas, had been discriminated against by the law

school’s   dean,   Defendant   James    M.   Douglas,   on   the   basis   of

protected speech, and by the school’s associate dean, Defendant


                                    1
Caliph Johnson, on the basis of their race.                 The jury also found

that     Defendants    Douglas    and       Johnson   violated        Plaintiffs’

substantive due process rights.         The jury awarded compensatory and

punitive damages and judgment was entered.             Holding that judgment

as a matter of law should have been entered against Plaintiffs’ as

to their claims under § 1983 for First Amendment free speech

retaliation, we reverse as to that issue, but affirm as to the

issues of § 1981 race discrimination and Fourteenth Amendment

substantive due process.



                                 BACKGROUND

       Appellees/Plaintiffs      Eugene     M.   Harrington     (“Harrington”),

Martin Levy (“Levy”), and Thomas Kleven (“Kleven”) are tenured

faculty members of the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall

School of Law (“the law school”) in Houston, Texas.              They have been

on     the   law   school’s   faculty       since   1966,     1972,   and   1974,

respectively.      The parties do not dispute that the law school is a

public university with a historically black majority enrollment.

         In 1981, Appellant/Defendant James Douglas (“Douglas”) was

named dean of the law school.        Appellant/Defendant Caliph Johnson

(“Johnson”) had been on the law school faculty since 1975 and

served as associate dean from 1990 to 1992.

       During Douglas’ first semester as dean, Harrington and Levy

approached Douglas concerning a Student Bar Association (“SBA”)

recommendation to appoint only black students to representative

positions on various law school committees.                 Harrington and Levy


                                        2
believed that non-black student representation was important and

they solicited Douglas to disregard the SBA recommendation and

appoint non-black students.1     It is unclear how Douglas reacted to

their suggestions.        Ultimately, the university president and a

Texas state senator became involved and non-black students were

subsequently appointed to the committees.            Levy claims that the

following year he received the lowest salary recommendation of any

member on the faculty.

       In May 1983, thirteen law school professors, including Levy

and Kleven, signed a document entitled, “Bill of Particulars.”             In

this   document,    the   signatories      complained   that   Dean   Douglas

discriminated against certain professors as to salaries, that he

failed to adhere to law school policies, and that he mishandled

various administrative duties.        The Bill of Particulars addressed:

           the professors’ concerns regarding American
           Bar   Association   (ABA)  mandates,   extreme
           insensitivity to the role of the Chicano
           students in the Law School, unilateral
           reduction of courses resulting in harm to
           students, reversing a long-standing policy on
           Senior Priority exams, unilateral increase in
           enrollment at the Law School, and such
           administrative matters as jeopardizing the
           status of the Law School by failing to develop
           a plan for the clinical program, and failing
           to properly certify Law School graduates for
           the July 1982 Bar exam.

This Bill of Particulars also addressed the signatories’ concern

that    certain    professors   had       received   arbitrary   or    unfair


1
  The law school constitution allowed the Dean to appoint faculty
representatives to the law school committees. Student representa-
tives were chosen by the SBA.


                                      3
performance evaluations or salary increases.           Appellee Harrington

did not sign this document.

      One month later, another letter was sent to Douglas, further

detailing the professors’ concerns.           Douglas sent no written

response.   In July 1983, eight faculty members, including Levy and

Kleven, wrote to the university’s Vice-President for Academic

Affairs requesting that the university dismiss Douglas as dean of

the law school.       Harrington did not sign this letter.

      In early 1984, eighteen of the twenty-three full-time members

of the law school faculty, including Harrington, Levy, and Kleven,

participated in a vote of “confidence/no confidence” concerning

Douglas.    Twelve members of the faculty voted “no confidence” and

six members abstained.

      Approximately six months later, fifteen members of the law

school faculty, including all three Plaintiffs, wrote a letter to

the president of the university requesting that Douglas be removed

as dean.    The university president denied their request.

      Several months later, eight members of the law school faculty

wrote a letter to the President of the American Bar Association

complaining    that    the   university’s   refusal    to   remove     Douglas

violated ABA guidelines.          Following an investigation, the ABA

dismissed the complaint.

      Beginning in 1985, Levy and Kleven, along with several of

their black colleagues, complained to both the university president

and   vice-president      about   discriminatory      treatment   in     their

salaries.     In 1986, then vice-president William Moore allegedly


                                     4
made salary adjustments for some of the professors, including Levy

and Kleven; however, Plaintiffs contend that they never received

these salary increases.

      In 1988-89, Levy and Kleven again complained to the university

vice-president about unfair treatment in salaries and raises, and

were subsequently “awarded a partial adjustment for that year.”

      In 1990, Levy and Kleven complained to then university vice-

president   Bobby   Wilson    about    Dean    Douglas’     unfair   treatment

regarding their salaries and raises.           Levy subsequently received a

salary adjustment.

      Later in 1990, vice-president Wilson developed a comprehensive

merit evaluation system.2 The merit evaluation system required the

individual faculty members to evaluate themselves on a point basis,

and then submit their self-evaluations to another appointed faculty

member for further review.      Johnson, as associate dean of the law

school, was chosen to assess law school faculty’s self-evaluations

and   recommend   overall    point    totals    to   the   dean.     The   merit

evaluations performed by Johnson formed the basis for the salary

increases to be awarded by Dean Douglas.

      Plaintiffs state that Johnson failed to notify Harrington

about the newly implemented self evaluation form, even though

Johnson allegedly knew that Harrington was on sabbatical when the

form was adopted.     Harrington never submitted a self-evaluation

form for the 1990-91 academic year.              His failure to do so was

2
   Prior to the implementation of this system, the university did
not have a uniform faculty evaluation system.


                                       5
considered when salary increase determinations were made.

       Plaintiffs state that, for the 1990-91 academic year, “Johnson

also    lowered    the      points     requested      for     all    the     white

professors...and    raised     the    points   requested      for    every   Black

professor who used the identical form.”

       In 1991-92, Harrington was awarded “professor of the year” by

all three student bar associations on campus.                  This same year,

Harrington was allegedly awarded the lowest percentage salary

increase of all full professors - 1%.

       In 1991-92, Kleven received the “outstanding teacher of the

year award” from Texas Southern University and was asked to be a

speaker at the law school graduation.              This same year, Johnson

allegedly    lowered     Kleven’s     self-evaluation       points   because    of

insufficient scholarship.            Johnson, however, admitted to never

having read the scholarly work of Kleven.

       Plaintiffs alleged that, by 1993, the disparity in salaries

between the average white full professors and average African

American full professors had grown to approximately $3,000 per year

even though, on average, the white professors had allegedly eight

years    more   longevity    than     the   African    American      professors.

Plaintiffs allege that Harrington, who had been a professor longer

than any other, was ranked seventh in salary; Levy, who ranked

third in years, ranked ninth in salary; and Kleven, who tied Dean

Douglas in years as a professor, ranked tenth in salary.

       At the time of trial, Harrington’s nine month salary was

$102,046, Levy’s nine-month salary was $98,297, and Kleven’s nine


                                        6
month salary was $97,332.   Harrington, Levy, and Kleven were among

the ten highest paid faculty at the law school.

     After filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission, in 1993, Plaintiffs brought suit in federal court

alleging violations of their due process rights under the Fifth and

Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution; violations of their

civil rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983;

conspiracy to interfere with their civil rights under the Klu Klux

Klan Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1985; racial discrimination in violation of

equal protection under the Civil Rights Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §

1981; and violation of their right to free expression under the

First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, as

well as pendent state claims for breach of contract and intentional

infliction of emotional distress.

     At trial, the following issues were submitted to the jury: a

§ 1983 claim for retaliation in violation of Plaintiffs’ right to

free expression under the First Amendment; claims under § 1981 and

Title VII for race discrimination; and a claim for violation of

Plaintiffs’ substantive due process rights.3      The jury returned

verdicts against Dean Douglas as to the § 1983 First Amendment

claim, and against Johnson as to the § 1981 race discrimination

claim.   The jury also returned verdicts against both Dean Douglas

3
   Prior to trial, the magistrate judge ruled, inter alia, that
Texas Southern University enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity from
suit as to Plaintiffs’ § 1981 race discrimination and § 1983 free
speech retaliation claims. The magistrate judge also held that
Defendants are not liable in their individual capacities on
Plaintiffs’ Title VII claim.    The parties do not appeal these
rulings, hence, we will not address them.

                                 7
and Johnson as to Plaintiffs’ substantive due process claims.

Defendants timely filed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter

of law, which was denied by the magistrate judge.4         The magistrate

judge entered final judgment as follows:

      1.      Harrington was awarded $12,362 in compensatory damages

and $27,000 in punitive damages from Dean Douglas, plus $4,301 in

compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages from Johnson.

      2.      Levy was awarded $20,320 in compensatory damages and

$27,000 in punitive damages from Dean Douglas, plus $6,201 in

compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages from Johnson.

      3.      Kleven was awarded $23,285 in compensatory damages and

$27,000 in punitive damages from Dean Douglas, plus $7,501 in

compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages from Johnson.

      The magistrate judge additionally found, by a preponderance of

the evidence, that “Plaintiffs are currently underpaid with respect

to    certain      colleagues     with     comparable    experience      and

qualifications.” The magistrate judge found that “the underpayment

is a result of illegal discrimination based on race, retaliation

for the exercise of their first amendment rights and the arbitrary

and capricious manner in which performance evaluations were made.”

The   court    ordered   the   following   injunctive   relief:   (1)   that

Harrington’s salary for the 1994-95 academic year be raised to

$105,382 “in order to bring him into parity with Professor Otis


4
   Defendants had previously filed a motion for judgment as a
matter of law prior to submission of the issues to the jury, as is
required by FED. R. CIV. P. 50. The magistrate judge denied this
motion, as well.

                                      8
King,”5 and (2) that the salaries for Levy and Kleven be raised to

$102,767 for the 1994-95 academic year to bring them into parity

with    the   salary   of   Johnson.        The    magistrate   judge   awarded

attorneys’ fees and costs to Plaintiffs.

       The Defendants timely filed the instant appeal.



                                 DISCUSSION

       On appeal, Defendants challenge the jury’s verdict as to Dean

Douglas on the § 1983 First Amendment claim; Johnson on the § 1981

race discrimination claim; and both Dean Douglas and Johnson on

Plaintiffs’ substantive due process claims.             We will address each

issue in turn.



                  I.   Section 1983 - First Amendment

       Defendants first argue that Plaintiffs have not suffered a

constitutional     deprivation    under      the    First   Amendment   because

Plaintiffs’ speech did not involve matters of public concern, nor

did Douglas’ actions constitute an adverse employment decision.

For the following reasons, we hold that Plaintiffs have failed to

establish a § 1983 claim for free speech retaliation, and we

reverse the jury’s verdict as to this issue.

       Section 1983 provides that any person who, under color of

state    law,   deprives    another    of    "any    rights,    privileges   or

immunities secured by the Constitution and laws shall be liable to


5
    Otis King is a professor with seniority status.


                                       9
the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other

proper proceeding for redress...." 42 U.S.C. § 1983. “Rather than

creating substantive rights, § 1983 simply provides a remedy for

the rights that it designates.”        Johnston v. Harris County Flood

Control Dist., 869 F.2d 1565, 1573 (5th Cir. 1989).         “Thus, an

underlying constitutional or statutory violation is a predicate to

liability under § 1983.”   Id.   In this case, Plaintiffs claim that

the free speech provision of the First Amendment provides the

underlying constitutional violation.

     To establish a § 1983 claim of retaliation for the exercise

free speech, Plaintiffs must prove that: (1) Defendants were acting

under color of state law; (2) Plaintiffs’ speech activities were

protected under the First Amendment; and (3) Plaintiffs’ exercise

of their protected right was a substantial or motivating factor in

Defendants' actions. Pierce v. Texas Dep’t. of Crim. Justice Inst.

Div., 37 F.3d 1146, 1149 (5th Cir. 1994); Mt. Healthy City School

Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S. Ct. 568, 576,

50 L.Ed. 2d 471 (1977).    We review de novo the legal question of

whether Plaintiffs’ allegations state a valid claim of retaliation.

Shultea v. Wood, 27 F.3d 1112, 1118 (5th Cir. 1994).

     The parties do not dispute on appeal that Defendant Douglas

was acting under color of state law.          Therefore, we must ask

whether Plaintiffs’ speech was protected under the First Amendment.

To assert a retaliation claim cognizable under the First Amendment,

a public employee must allege facts demonstrating that his speech

involved a matter of public concern, Shultea, 27 F.3d at 1118, and


                                  10
that he “has suffered an adverse employment action for exercising

[his] right to free speech.”        Pierce, 37 F.3d at 1149.

     Assuming,      without    deciding,    that    the   issues   raised    by

Plaintiffs are matters of public concern, the critical questions

are: (1) did Plaintiffs suffer an adverse employment action and, if

so, (2) was such adverse employment action taken in retaliation for

Plaintiffs’ exercise of free speech. For the following reasons, we

hold that Plaintiffs have failed to show that they suffered an

adverse employment action.

     “Adverse    employment      actions    are     discharges,    demotions,

refusals to hire, refusals to promote, and reprimands.”             Id.     Many

actions which merely have a chilling effect upon protected speech

are not actionable.      Id.     Actions such as “decisions concerning

teaching assignments, pay increases, administrative matters, and

departmental procedures,” while extremely important to the person

who has dedicated his or her life to teaching, do not rise to the

level of a constitutional deprivation.         Dorsett v. Bd. of Trustees

for State Colleges & Universities, 940 F.2d 121, 123 (5th Cir.

1991).

     On   appeal,     Plaintiffs    argue    that    they   experienced     the

following adverse employment actions: Douglas evaluated Kleven’s

law school participation as being “counterproductive” and Douglas

perennially discriminated against Plaintiffs when making merit-

based salary increase determinations.         For the following reasons,

we hold that neither of these actions rise to the level of a

constitutional deprivation.


                                     11
      First, assuming that Douglas did, in fact, criticize Kleven’s

participation as being counterproductive, Plaintiffs point to no

case law (nor do we find any) which holds that an employer’s

criticism of an employee, without more, constitutes an actionable

adverse employment action.            In this case, the evidence is clear

that no Plaintiff has been discharged or threatened with discharge;

no Plaintiff has been demoted; no Plaintiff has been denied a

promotion; and no Plaintiff suffered a reduction in pay.                       In fact,

all Plaintiffs are tenured professors of law, having achieved the

highest rank available at the law school.                   All Plaintiffs still

teach at the law school and all Plaintiffs are among the law

school’s top earners.         Regardless of the arguable merits behind

this, or any criticism, mere criticisms do not give rise to a

constitutional deprivation for purposes of the First Amendment.

Accordingly,     Plaintiffs     did    not    suffer   an    actionable         adverse

employment      action   when   Douglas       criticized         Kleven    as     being

counterproductive.

      Next,   Plaintiffs    argue      that    they    experienced        an    adverse

employment action when Douglas failed to award them certain merit

pay increases.       For purposes of this analysis, we assume that

Plaintiffs actually deserved the merit pay increases of which they

complain. The question before us, therefore, is whether the denial

of   deserved    merit    pay   increases       can    constitute         an    adverse

employment action.       We conclude that it cannot.             As this Court has

previously held in Dorsett, any harm resulting from decisions

concerning    “pay   increases”       does    not   rise    to    the   level     of   a


                                        12
constitutional deprivation.6            Dorsett, 940 F.2d at 124.           After

carefully reviewing the record and the caselaw, we hold that

Plaintiffs’ proof of adverse employment action amounts to nothing

more   than     a   dispute   over     pay    increases.      Accordingly,    the

Plaintiffs      have   not    proved   an     actionable    adverse    employment

activity.

       Having   failed   to    establish      a   First    Amendment   violation,

Plaintiffs failed to prove a case for a § 1983 claim of retaliation

for the exercise of free speech. For these reasons, the magistrate

judge erred in failing to grant Defendants’ motion for judgment as

a matter of law, and the judgment of the magistrate court is

reversed as to this issue.




6
    In Dorsett, we held:

              The continuing retaliatory actions alleged by
              Dorsett appear to be nothing more than
              decisions concerning teaching assignments, pay
              increases,    administrative   matters,    and
              departmental procedures....

                 In public schools and universities across
              this nation, interfaculty disputes arise daily
              over teaching assignments, room assignments,
              administrative duties, classroom equipment,
              teacher recognition, and a host of       other
              relatively trivial matters. A federal court
              is simply not the appropriate forum in which
              to seek redress for such harms.

                 We have neither the competency nor the
              resources to undertake to micro manage the
              administration   of   thousands of   state
              educational institutions.

Dorsett, 940 F.2d at 123-24 (emphasis added) (internal citations
omitted).

                                         13
                     II.   Sufficiency of the Evidence

Standard of Review

      Defendants next challenge the sufficiency of the evidence as

to Plaintiffs’ claims that Johnson discriminated against them on

the basis of their race in violation of § 1981, and that Johnson

and Douglas arbitrarily and capriciously deprived them of merit pay

increases in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.7          “A motion for

judgment as a matter of law ... in an action tried by jury is a

challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting the

jury's verdict.”       Hiltgen v. Sumral, 47 F.3d 695, 699 (5th Cir.

1995). “On review of the district court's denial of such a motion,

the appellate court uses the same standard to review the verdict

that the district court used in first passing on the motion.”             Id.

A   jury   verdict    must   be   upheld   unless   "there   is   no   legally

sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find" as the

jury did.    FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a)(1). “This court has consistently

applied this standard to show appropriate deference for the jury's

determination.”        Hiltgen, 47 F.3d at 700.         “A jury may draw

reasonable inferences from the evidence, and those inferences may

constitute sufficient proof to support a verdict.” Id.            “On appeal

we are bound to view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in

the light most favorable to the jury's determination.”             Id.   “Even

though we might have reached a different conclusion if we had been

the trier of fact, we are not free to reweigh the evidence or to

7
   The parties do not dispute on appeal that Defendants properly
preserved these issues for appeal by asserting a timely motion for
judgment as a matter of law at the close of the case.

                                      14
re-evaluate credibility of witnesses.”                     Id.    Within this broad

standard of deference, we “must focus on whether a reasonable trier

of fact could have concluded as the jury did.”                          Armendariz v.

Pinkerton Tobacco Co., 58 F.3d 144, 149 (5th Cir. 1995), cert.

denied, 116 S. Ct. 709 (1996).



Section 1981 Race Discrimination

     Section 1981 provides that all persons in the United States

shall have the same contractual rights as white citizens.8                           42

U.S.C. § 1981(a); LaPierre v. Benson Nissan, Inc., 86 F.3d 444, 448

n.2 (5th Cir. 1996).          “Claims of racial discrimination brought

under §     1981   are    governed   by    the    same      evidentiary     framework

applicable to claims of employment discrimination brought under

Title VII.”     LaPierre, 86 F.3d at 448 n.2.               Thus, “to succeed on a

claim of intentional discrimination under Title VII ... or Section

1981,   a   plaintiff      must   first     prove      a    prima   facie    case    of

discrimination.”         Wallace v. Texas Tech Univ., 80 F.3d 1042, 1047

(5th Cir. 1996).          However, “when a case has been tried on the

merits,     a   reviewing     appellate        court       need   not    address    the

8
   In the Civil Rights Act of 1991, enacted November 21, 1991,
Congress legislatively reversed the Supreme Court case of Patterson
v. McLean Credit Union, 109 S. Ct. 2363 (1989), which held that
section 1981's guarantee of the right to make contracts did not
extend to conduct occurring after the employer-employee contract
was formed.   Section 1981 now specifically states that, "[f]or
purposes of this section, the term 'make and enforce contracts'
includes the making, performance, modification, and termination of
contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms,
and conditions   of the contractual relationship.”     42 U.S.C. §
1981(b);   National Ass’n. of Gov’t Employees, Et Al. v.       City
Public Serv. Bd. of San Antonio, Et Al., 40 F.3d 698, 712 (5th Cir.
1994).

                                          15
sufficiency of plaintiff's prima facie case, and may instead

proceed directly to the ultimate question of whether plaintiff has

produced sufficient evidence for a jury to find that discrimination

has occurred.”     Walther v. Lone Star Gas Co., 952 F.2d 119, 122

(5th Cir. 1992). In other words, the focus “then shifts to the

ultimate     question   of    whether     the    defendant   intentionally

discriminated against the plaintiff.”           LaPierre, 86 F.3d at 448.

      In showing intentional employment discrimination, a plaintiff

need not come forward with direct evidence of discriminatory

intent.     LaPierre, 86 F.3d at 449; Rhodes v. Guiberson Oil Tools,

75 F.3d 989, 993 (5th Cir. 1996) (en banc).          Direct evidence of an

employer's discriminatory intent is rare; therefore, plaintiffs

must ordinarily prove their claims through circumstantial evidence.

Id.     A   plaintiff   may   establish    circumstantial     evidence      of

intentional discrimination by demonstrating that a defendant's

articulated nondiscriminatory rationale was pretextual.          McDonnell

Douglas Corp. v. Green, 93 S. Ct. 1817, 1825 (1973);           Texas Dept.

of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 101 S. Ct. 1089, 1093 (1981).               A

plaintiff    may   demonstrate   pretext    either    by   showing   that   a

discriminatory motive more likely motivated the employer, or that

the employer's explanation is unworthy of credence.            Amburgey v.

Corhart Refractories Corp. Inc., 936 F.2d 805, 813 (5th Cir. 1991).

      At trial, Plaintiffs offered evidence showing that Johnson

intentionally or recklessly failed to give white professors equal

credit and consideration for their scholarship, research, community

service, and publications.       Plaintiffs offered evidence showing


                                    16
that this discriminatory policy caused black professors to receive

higher merit pay increases than those received by their white

counterparts.        Plaintiffs also offered the testimony of faculty

members who stated that a racially discriminatory environment

existed at the law school and that Johnson’s treatment of the

Plaintiffs could only be attributed to such discrimination.

      After    thoroughly       reviewing       the    relevant     portions        of    the

record, as well as the arguments of the parties, we hold that

Plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence to allow a reasonable jury

to   conclude    that     Johnson       intentionally       discriminated           against

Plaintiffs on the basis of race when he evaluated them for merit

pay increases.       While the evidence offered by Plaintiffs is purely

circumstantial, such evidence, if believed by the jury, can give

rise to a claim for intentional race discrimination under § 1981.

For these reasons, we find no reversible error and the judgment of

the magistrate judge on this issue is affirmed.



Substantive Due Process

      Finally, Defendants argue that the evidence presented at trial

does not support the jury’s finding that Johnson and Douglas

violated Defendants’ substantive due process rights under the

Fourteenth      Amendment.         “To    succeed       with   a    claim         based    on

substantive due process in the public employment context, the

plaintiff     must   show    two    things:      (1)    that   he       had   a    property

interest/right       in   his    employment,          and   (2)     that      the    public

employer's      termination        of    that     interest        was     arbitrary        or


                                           17
capricious.”   Moulton v. City of Beaumont, 991 F.2d 227, 230 (5th

Cir. 1993). “If state action is so arbitrary and capricious as to

be irrational, its infringement on a constitutionally protected

interest may violate substantive due process rights.”   Neuwirth v.

Louisiana State Bd. of Dentistry, 845 F.2d 553, 558 (5th Cir.

1988).

     On appeal, Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiffs had a

property interest in a rational application of the university’s

merit pay policy.     Accordingly, we need not address this issue.

Assuming, arguendo, that Plaintiffs did have a property interest in

merit pay increases, we must ask whether Johnson and Douglas

awarded such pay increases in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

See Spuler v. Pickar, 958 F.2d 103, 107 (5th Cir. 1992) (Assuming

plaintiff had a property interest, the only substantive process due

was the exercise of professional judgment, in a non-arbitrary and

non-capricious fashion).   After thoroughly and carefully reviewing

the briefs of the parties and the relevant portions of the record,

we hold that a jury could reasonably conclude that Johnson and

Douglas acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in their merit

pay evaluations.    Thus, the judgment of the magistrate judge as to

this issue is affirmed.



                             CONCLUSION

     For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgment of the

magistrate judge as to the issue of § 1983 retaliatory discharge

under the First Amendment; affirm the judgment of the magistrate


                                 18
judge as to the issue of § 1981 race discrimination; and affirm the

judgment of the magistrate judge as to the issue of substantive due

process under the Fourteenth Amendment.    To the extent that the

final judgment of the magistrate judge is not modified by this

order, it is, in all things, affirmed.9

     This case is remanded to the magistrate judge for modification

of the final judgment in accordance with this opinion.




9
   Defendants have not appealed the propriety of the injunctive
relief awarded by the magistrate judge, or the punitive damages
awarded by the jury on the issue of race discrimination.
Accordingly, we express no opinion as to these aspects of the
judgment. The issue of attorneys’ fees shall be determined by the
magistrate judge in a manner consistent with this opinion.

                                19