A federal judge has rejected a request to immediately reinstate Jacqueline Smith, the former ombudsman for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, while allowing her legal challenge against the Pentagon to continue.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta declined Smith’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have returned her to the position through the end of her term. However, the judge also rejected the Department of Defense’s request to have the lawsuit dismissed at this stage.
Smith sued the Pentagon after she was removed from her position in April. She alleges that her dismissal was retaliation for an opinion column in which she criticized Pentagon actions affecting Stars and Stripes, including a decision involving comic strips and broader changes to the publication.
The Pentagon has argued that Smith’s column was written as part of her official duties and therefore did not receive First Amendment protection. The government maintains that she was acting as a federal employee rather than as a private citizen when she published the column.
Judge Mehta said Smith had not demonstrated at this stage that she was likely to succeed on her retaliation claim, leading him to deny her request for immediate reinstatement.
At the same time, the judge raised broader constitutional questions about how First Amendment protections should apply to government-employed journalists. He questioned whether existing legal standards can simply be applied to journalists whose official responsibilities involve publishing and protecting editorial independence.
The court gave the Defense Department until October 20 to either renew its request to dismiss the case while addressing the additional legal questions raised by the judge or file an answer to Smith’s lawsuit.
The case could therefore continue to test the boundaries between government employment, press independence and First Amendment protections at Stars and Stripes.
Smith’s allegations have not been finally determined by the court, and the litigation remains ongoing.