The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition to review the case of a Christian fire chief who was terminated for attending a leadership conference hosted by a church. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, in a rare public dissent over a case’s merit to be heard, contended that the court should have taken the case.

In 2006, Ron Hittle became fire chief for Stockton, California. In 2010, the city received an anonymous letter that called Hittle, a Christian, a “religious fanatic who should not be allowed to continue as the Fire Chief of Stockton.” According to the petition, Hittle’s supervisor Laurie Montes then accused Hittle of being part of a “Christian Coalition” before stating he shouldn’t “be a part of anything like that as the fire chief, and [he] should refrain from doing any of those type of activities.” The petition states that she interrogated him about his personal religious activities. Montes later directed Hittle to complete a leadership training session.

Hittle searched for a training session but found limited options, as many required out of state travel or were unaffordable. However, he discovered that a former pastor he was acquainted with had four tickers to the Global Leadership Summit. In past conferences, the summit had renown key speakers such as former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Hittle and three other firefighters paid for the tickets using their own funds and traveled to the session in Hittle’s car “which the City directed him to drive at all times so he could respond to emergency incidents,” according to the petition.

Subsequently, the city launched an investigation into Hittle’s conduct, which resulted in Montes firing him in October 2011, ending his 24-year service at Stockton Fire Department. Of 10 grievances Montes cited with Hittle, five concerned his Christian faith and activities, and the termination letter clarified his firing was for his attendance at the Christian conference. 

Represented by First Liberty Institute, Hittle filed suit on the grounds of religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In March 2022, a U.S. district judge ruled in the city’s favor. The case was heard in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but was rejected in August 2023, leading his attorneys to submit the case to the Supreme Court for a hearing.

On March 10, the court denied the hearing, with dissent from Thomas and Gorsuch.

Senior Counsel Stephanie Taub at First Liberty Institute responded to Thomas and Gorsuch’s decision to attach a dissent.

“Attaching a dissent to a denial is incredibly rare. The Supreme Court receives about 7,000 to 8,000 requests each year,” Taub stated. “It typically agrees to hear only about 60 cases or less, less than 1 percent of all requests. Most appeals are denied outright, without any comment or explanation. The fact that two justices made a point to write a dissent is highly significant. Dissenting opinions like this one are often the first step toward getting a harmful precedent overturned.”

Taub provided an example of a past First Liberty Institute case initially declined by the Supreme Court. The case, which had received a dissent from four justices, was revisited later and won.

“As you can see, the court’s denial to accept this case doesn’t end the battle for religious employees to be able to express their faith in the workplace,” Taub said. “Far from it. We have a powerful dissent in our hands that we can use as we continue to fight for all people of faith whose religious liberty is threatened while on the job. For now, please continue to pray for Chief Hittle.”

Photo: First Liberty Institute