Individual appointed to a public office does not have a right to reappointment to such public office after the individual’s term of office expires

Individual appointed to a public office does not have a right to reappointment to such public office after the individual’s term of office expires
Gupta v Town of Brighton, 2nd Cir., 182 F.3d 899

Is an individual entitled to be reappointed to public office upon the completion of his or her term? The Gupta decision demonstrates that the individual must be able to prove that he or she had a constitutional right to be continued in the office to prevail.

Brijen K. Gupta, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brighton Memorial Library, was not reappointed to the board by the Town Council when his term expired. Claiming that he was denied reappointment (a) in retaliation for his public criticism of elected officials engaging in extramarital activities and (b) because of racial animus, Gupta sued the Town of Brighton, its Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel and one of its Council members, Robert Barbato, in federal court.

The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said that Gupta’s “claims are without merit” and sustained a federal district court judge’s ruling summarily dismissing Gupta’s complaint.

As to Gupta’s claim that his due process rights had been violated because he was not reappointed, the Circuit Court pointed out that in order to get the issue before a jury, much less prevail, Gupta had to show that he had the constitutionally required “legitimate claim of entitlement” to reappointment, citing Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564.

The court concluded that because Gupta was unable to demonstrate any entitlement to, or property interest in, the reappointment, the lower court properly dismissed his petition.

The Circuit Court commented that while Gupta alleged improper motive on the part of two of the five board members, “he has made no substantiated allegations that the remaining three board members were so motivated.” Accordingly, the court concluded, there is insufficient evidence of either discrimination or retaliation, especially since the vote not to reappoint him as a trustee of the library was unanimous.
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