Thornton v. University Civil Service Merit Board

507 N.E.2d 1262, 154 Ill. App. 3d 1016, 107 Ill. Dec. 893, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2387
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 21, 1987
Docket5-85-0842
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 507 N.E.2d 1262 (Thornton v. University Civil Service Merit Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thornton v. University Civil Service Merit Board, 507 N.E.2d 1262, 154 Ill. App. 3d 1016, 107 Ill. Dec. 893, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2387 (Ill. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE EARNS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Wayman Thornton, appeals from a judgment of the circuit court of Madison County sustaining an order of the University Civil Service Merit Board (Merit Board) discharging plaintiff from his employment as a police officer II.

Plaintiff was hired in 1968 by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) as a police officer at the East St. Louis campus. On March 19, 1980, the chief of police at SIUE sent a memo to all police personnel prohibiting all forms of gambling while on duty or on university property and advising personnel that a violation of this policy would result in disciplinary action. On March 19, 1980, plaintiff was suspended 20 days for gambling on university premises during working hours. During an investigation of a burglary at the campus, SIUE detectives interviewed suspect Reginald Hubert. Hubert stated that plaintiff was involved in poker games in the police department office at the East St. Louis campus. An investigation was instituted and a hidden video camera was installed in the office by agents of the Illinois Department of Law Enforcement’s Internal Investigation Unit. No search warrant was obtained. The camera was activated on July 8, 1984, to monitor plaintiff’s shift. After viewing the tape, written charges for discharge were filed against plaintiff.

A hearing was held at which time plaintiff made a motion to suppress the video tape which was denied by the hearing officer. The hearing officer made the following findings of fact: On July 8, 1984, during plaintiff’s 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift, plaintiff engaged in a card game and gambled for money in the police department office of the SIUE East St. Louis campus; plaintiff gambled with playing cards in violation of the directive of the chief of police forbidding such activity; the elimination of a football betting pool was the purpose behind the directive of March 19, 1980; plaintiff permitted unauthorized persons to be on the premises on July 8, 1984, when the building was closed to the public; plaintiff was out of uniform during his assigned shift; plaintiff did not devote his time during his shift to his assigned duties in violation of a police department general order. The hearing officer further found that plaintiff’s fellow workers had a high regard for his abilities as a police officer, and plaintiff had been evaluated favorably under the evaluation system used by the department.

The Merit Board adopted these findings of fact and concluded that cause for discharge existed. Plaintiff sought administrative review and the circuit court upheld plaintiff’s discharge. Plaintiff appeals.

Plaintiff contends that the Merit Board’s findings of fact are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence and that the evidence does not support just cause for discharge. A two-step analysis of the scope of review of an administrative agency’s decision regarding discharge is set forth in Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities v. Civil Service Com. (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 547, 426 N.E.2d 885. “First, the court must determine if the agency’s findings of fact are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.” (85 Ill. 2d 547, 550, 426 N.E.2d 885, 887.) In applying this rule, the court must consider section 3 — 110 of the Administrative Review Law, which provides that “[t]he findings and conclusions of the administrative agency-on questions of fact shall be held to be prima facie true and correct.” (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 110, par. 3 — 110; Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities v. Civil Service Com. (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 547, 550, 426 N.E.2d 885, 887.) Plaintiff maintains that the video tape, which is the sole evidence of his participation in gambling on July 8, 1984, is insufficient to support the findings of fact. Plaintiff has failed to include the video tape in the record on appeal. It is appellant’s duty to present a complete record on appeal and any doubts arising from the incompleteness of the record will be resolved against the appellant. (Teitelbaum v. Reliable Welding Co. (1982), 106 Ill. App. 3d 651, 661, 435 N.E.2d 852, 859.) The record does not reveal that the tape was of a poor quality or that it was difficult to ascertain the activity depicted in the tape. Plaintiff’s failure to include the tape in the record on appeal renders any determination by this court regarding whether the findings of fact are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence impossible. In resolving the incompleteness of the record against plaintiff, we will not overrule the trial court’s determination that the Merit Board’s findings of fact are not against the manifest weight of the evidence. We also note that plaintiff incorrectly asserts that the hearing officer must have found that plaintiff’s participation in gambling was established by clear and convincing evidence. The standard of proof to be applied in the instant cause is the preponderance of the evidence standard. See Board of Education v. State Board of Education (1986), 113 Ill. 2d 173, 185-94, 497 N.E.2d 984, 989-93.

“The second step in the court’s analysis is to determine if the findings of fact provide a sufficient basis for the agency’s conclusion that cause for discharge does or does not exist.” (Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities v. Civil Service Com. (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 547, 551, 426 N.E.2d 885, 887.) Cause has been defined as some substantial shortcoming which renders the employee’s continuance in office in some way detrimental to the discipline and efficiency of the service and which the law and sound public opinion recognize as good reason for his no longer holding that position. (Burgett v. City of Collinsville Board of Fire & Police Commissioners (1986), 149 Ill. App. 3d 420, 423-24, 500 N.E.2d 951, 953.) The agency’s decision as to cause will not be reversed unless it is arbitrary, unreasonable, or unrelated to the requirements of service. (Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities v. Civil Service Com. (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 547, 551-52, 426 N.E.2d 885, 887.) Plaintiff maintains that, although his conduct may justify suspension, it does not justify discharge. Rule 11.4(c) of the Civil Service Rules of the State Universities Civil Service System allows an employer to suspend an employee for gambling on institutional premises. Rule 11.5(g) provides that causes justifying discharge include all those listed as cause for suspension if they become recurring offenses. Plaintiff had been suspended in March 1980 for gambling during working hours.

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Bluebook (online)
507 N.E.2d 1262, 154 Ill. App. 3d 1016, 107 Ill. Dec. 893, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornton-v-university-civil-service-merit-board-illappct-1987.