4. While an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, Rob Reuland published a novel about working as a prosecutor. He was interviewed in his Homicide Bureau office by a reporter for New York magazine, and the resulting piece (highlighting young lawyers in the city) mentioned Reuland's upcoming book and quoted him as saying, "Brooklyn is the best place to be a homicide prosecutor" because "[w]e've got more dead bodies per square inch than anyplace else." Told by his supervisor that prominent politicians were outraged over his description of Brooklyn in the article, Reuland said he was just trying to explain why he enjoyed his job, and he offered to write a letter to the editor to make that clear. His attempt to do that-approved by his supervisor-stated:
This was not intended to be, nor is it, literally true. In fact Brooklyn's murder rate has declined more than 66 percent during the past decade. Even with the remarkable reduction, the loss of life remains high and still keeps a homicide prosecutor busy-the point of my hyperbolic remark.
Still, the District Attorney was not happy. He transferred Reuland out of the Homicide Bu- reau, a demotion. When Reuland did not receive positive performance reviews and his request to transfer was denied, he resigned.
On what basis could Reuland sue?
What would probably be the outcome of his case? Find out what it was: Reuland v. Hynes 460 F3d 409 (2d Cir. 2006).