Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit March 18, 1998, Nos. 96-36060, 97-35634 (Lawson v. Umatilla County)

lead-opinion

ALDISERT, Circuit Judge:

This appeal by Umatilla County, Oregon from an adverse judgment in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by Kevin Lawson, a discharged County employee, requires us to decide if Lawson possessed a constitutionally-protected property interest that prevented the County from terminating him without providing the procedural due process guaranteed by the