Managers and the Legal Environment 7th Edition by David Madsen, Constance Bagley

Exercise 5

In September 1998, Christie Helm was hired as an administrative assistant for both Judge Frederick Stewart and Judge Robert Bednar in the First Judicial District of Kansas. Judge Stewart began sexually harassing Helm shortly after she was hired. For several years, the harassment primarily involved touching Helm's rear end, thighs, and legs. Additionally, in 1999, Judge Stewart forced a kiss on Helm in front of the courthouse.
Helm took a medical leave of absence during the spring and early summer of 2006. After Helm returned to work, Judge Stewart started touching her inappropriately again. During the spring of 2007, the harassment began to escalate. Throughout March and April, Judge Stewart would regularly close the door of his office and kiss Helm. In addition, he once put his hands up Helm's skirt. In late May or early June 2007, Judge Stewart put his hands up Helm's skirt and penetrated her vagina with his finger. He also told her that he wanted to have sex with her on the couch in his chambers and make her have an orgasm. In June 2007, Judge Stewart unbuttoned Helm's blouse on two different occasions and fondled her breasts.
Between 2003 and 2007, Helm complained to her coworker Karen Connor about Judge Stewart on approximately ten different occasions. She never mentioned specifics, stating only that Judge Stewart made her uncomfortable. In late June or early July 2007, Helm approached David King, the chief judge of the First Judicial District, and told him that Judge Stewart had done something inappropriate and made her feel uncomfortable. She did not disclose any details, however. Chief Judge King advised her of the procedure for making a complaint. He also told her that if she wished to make a complaint, the First Judicial District "would stand beside and support her fully and that there would be no consequence to her as a result of making the complaint." Helm said that she wanted to think about whether to make a complaint, and Chief Judge King responded, "Well, don't take too long, because if you don't do anything, I'm going to have to do something since you've conveyed this to me."
Helm came back to Chief Judge King the same day and said that she had resolved the matter with Judge Stewart and did not wish to pursue it further. Chief Judge King relayed his conversation with Helm to Steven Crossland, the court administrator, but neither King nor Crossland made a report to the Office of Judicial Administration (OJA). In July 2007, Helm requested medical leave so that she could seek treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. She was given permission to take unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act after she exhausted her sick leave and vacation.
On August 8, 2007, before Helm was scheduled to return to work, she reported to Judge Bednar that Judge Stewart had sexually harassed her. Helm told Judge Bednar that the harassment was "basically verbal, but it had gotten to touching or had involved touching." She also informed Judge Bednar about her previous conversations with Chief Judge King.
Judge Bednar immediately reported Helm's complaint to Chief Judge King and Steven Crossland. Crossland notified the OJA of the complaint later that same day. Crossland planned to talk to Helm and Chief Judge King when she returned to work on August 13, 2007, about changing her duties so that she would not have to work for Judge Stewart anymore. Helm did not return to work on August 13.
On September 18, 2007, Helm was arrested following an altercation with her husband. She was charged with aggravated battery (a felony) and domestic battery and disorderly conduct (both misdemeanors). Helm ultimately entered into a diversion agreement that included her stipulation to facts that satisfied the elements of the three charged offenses. On December 3, 2007, Chief Judge King sent Helm a letter informing her that the conduct to which she admitted violated three provisions of the Kansas Court Personnel Rules. He further explained that her decision to enter into a diversion on a felony charge disqualified her from accessing defendants' criminal histories under the rules established for the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System. This precluded her from carrying out her duties as an administrative assistant.
Helm responded in a letter dated December 7, 2007. She provided a number of reasons why she should be allowed to continue working for the First Judicial District, including the fact that Ron Chance, the court administrator who preceded Crossland, had entered into a diversion on a DUI charge and had not been fired. Helm suggested that her criminal prosecution and the proposed termination represented retaliation for her complaining about Judge Stewart's sexual harassment. One week later, Chief Judge King wrote to Helm again and informed her that she was terminated effective immediately. He rejected Helm's attempt to compare her situation to Chance's, explaining that Helm was the only employee that he knew who had admitted to facts constituting a felony offense against another person.
Helm filed a charge of discrimination against the State of Kansas with the EEOC, in which she alleged sexual harassment and retaliatory discharge in violation of Title VII. What result? [Helm v. Kansas, 656 F.3d 1277 (10th Cir. 2011).]