A Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the firing of a State Patrol trooper for his ties to the Ku Klux Klan

Robert Henderson, a state trooper for 18 years, was fired in 2006 after he told an investigator he had joined the Knights Party, which described itself as the most active Klan organization in the U.S.

During arbitration, it was concluded that Henderson’s firing violated his First Amendment rights, but a district judge overturned that decision.

Henderson’s attorney had argued to the high court that arbitrators, not judges, have the final say on the matter, but nonetheless, today, Justice John Gerrard upheld the county court judge’s decision, saying that Robert Henderson voluntarily associated himself with an organization that uses violence and terror, to oppose the state’s found principles of equality and tolerance.

Justice Gerrard wrote that while it is not the role of the court, to set aside an arbitrator’s decision, it is permissible for a court to “refuse to enforce an arbitration award that is contrary to a public policy that is explicit, well defined, and dominant.”

Justice Kenneth Stephan wrote in a dissenting opinion that the courts overstepped their bounds by overturning the arbitrator.  Stating, that Henderson had kept his beliefs well-hidden while on the job and there was no evidence they interfered with his impartial enforcement of the law.

IS THIS FREAKIN JUDGE FOR REAL? TELL THIS TO A LOT OF THE BLACK MEN SITTING IN PRISON TODAY!

However, Gerrard noted that the state’s admission to the Union in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended, was dependent on a “fundamental public policy” that Nebraska would adhere to the principle that “laws should be enforced without regard to race.”

“It is beyond dispute that (Henderson) willingly joined the Knights Party, knowing that he was effectively joining the Ku Klux Klan,” Gerrard wrote. “In joining, he endorsed a point of view that is completely antithetical to the principles of Nebraska law that he was bound by oath to enforce.”

To associate with the KKK is to associate with a legacy of hatred, bigotry, violence and terror, and keeping Henderson in the force would reduce public confidence in law enforcement, Gerrard wrote.

“One cannot simultaneously wear the badge of the Nebraska State Patrol and the robe of a Klansman without degrading what that badge represents when worn by any officer.”

Henderson’s attorney, Vincent Valentino said today that they were thinking of appealing it with the U.S. Supreme Court, based on everything from due process to freedom of speech and freedom of association.