Butler v. Harris County Texas

Opinion

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

_____________________

No. 96-20434 Summary Calendar _____________________

RICHARD BUTLER,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

versus

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS; HARRIS COUNTY JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENT,

Defendants-Appellees.

_________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (CA-H-94-2476) _________________________________________________________________

August 26, 1997 Before WIENER, BARKSDALE, and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Richard Butler appeals from the judgment as a matter of law in

favor of Harris County and his former employer, the Harris County

Juvenile Probation Department, on his claim that, for filing a

grievance reporting suspected violations of the law, he was

discharged in violation of the Texas Whistleblower’s Act.

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Butler did not satisfy his burden of providing a complete

transcript of the trial. See Great Plains Equipment, Inc. v. Koch

Gathering Systems, Inc., 45 F.3d 962, 965-66 (5th Cir. 1995).

Nevertheless, we have reviewed the portions provided, along with

the briefs and the remainder of the record, and conclude that no

reasonable juror could have found either that Butler was discharged

because he reported, in good faith, a suspected violation of law,

or that he would not have been terminated had he not filed a

grievance. See FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a); Conkling v. Turner, 18 F.3d

1285, 1300 (5th Cir. 1994).

Accordingly, the district court did not err by setting aside

the jury verdict in favor of Butler and granting the defendants’

motion for judgment as a matter of law. Butler v. Harris County,

et al., No. CA-H-94-2476 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 2, 1996) (unpublished).

AFFIRMED

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