Charles Crawley v. Board of Education of Marion County, Kentucky

GEORGE CLIFTON EDWARDS, Jr., Chief Judge.

The sole issue in this case is whether, under Kentucky law, a high school principal is entitled to a hearing before being transferred (at the same pay) to the newly created post of Supervisor of Transportation for the same school system. Before turning to the answer to that question (not a wholly easy one, as Judge Martin’s dissent helps us make clear), we need to explain why a pure question of Kentucky law is being considered at all in a federal court.

Plaintiff Charles Crawley sought relief primarily under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that his transfer…