By Angelina Newsom:
An assistant public defender named Alton Edmund was recently fired in Florida. He claims it was because he was wearing a tie in the court room with Black Lives Matter written on it. Additionally, he asserts on his Facebook page that he was let go for stating that work had become too political. By that, he meant his colleagues were having a discussion in support of President Donald Trump’s policies. Yet there are several issues that don’t fit together when reading Edmund’s side of the story.
Alton Edmund came under fire from his boss, public defender Blaise Trettis, for posts he made on Facebook. According to his boss, Edmund was posting to Facebook during business hours and he specifically mentioned his boss in his posts. Someone even printed off the posts Edmund made and turned them into Trettis for him to read. That’s a huge mistake in any profession.
Edmund also posted videos of his colleagues having a conversation, but later deleted it. He claimed that he only meant to post a video of himself, and he deleted it when he realized his coworkers could be heard talking in the background. That’s not the way his office sees things, though. As professionals, there should have been a conversation about these matters before they were splashed across social media.
This is another fine example of why professionals need to watch what they post online. One ill-advised decision can turn a career upside-down, and even ruin it. One would think that a lawyer would be hyper-aware of the implications of posting office business to social media, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.
Then, there is the issue of the tie. According to Edmund, he should be allowed to wear a Black Lives Matter tie in court under his First Amendment rights. His boss says that it isn’t something that is appropriate for an attorney to wear, however, especially not while court is in session. Edmund argues that it’s the same thing as his boss having participated in Donald Trump rallies, but it’s really not.
Trettis admittedly attended these rallies and supports President Donald Trump. He even says that there is nothing wrong with discussing politics in the office or anywhere else. Trettis argues, however, that it’s one thing to speak about your politics in the office, and quite another to wear your politics while conducting business.
When I read this, it immediately reminded me of the rule that bars service members from attending political functions while in uniform. While it’s perfectly okay to do so on their own time, service members can’t be seen as advocating for any political causes while representing the United States Military. I feel this should also be the case for professionals, especially lawyers.
The trend of wearing Black Lives Matter accessories has sprung up among lawyers recently. One was even found to be in contempt when she would not remove a pin after a judge ordered her to. The phrase is political, and there isn’t room for blatant political statements inside a court of law, especially not one that is controversial and can have negative connotations for certain members of law enforcement. Alton Edmund would do well to recognize this fact.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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