TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — In an order issued May 13, Magistrate Judge Gerald L. Jackson ruled that Oscar Brownfield’s Title IX and Office of Civil Rights complaints could reach the jury in his retaliation suit against Cherokee County School District No. 35, also known as Tahlequah Public Schools.
The court found the evidence relevant to whether Brownfield, a former substitute teacher, opposed an unlawful employment practice, a key element of his Title VII retaliation claim. While the parties had stipulated that Brownfield filed the Title IX complaint for the purposes of his separate Title IX retaliation count, no such stipulation existed for the Title VII claim.
"Whether Plaintiff opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice under Title VII will be a jury question, absent a stipulation that Plaintiff engaged in such protected activity, and, thus, Plaintiff’s Title IX complaint and the allegations contained in Plaintiff’s complaint are relevant for the Title VII retaliation claim," Jackson wrote.
The judge similarly denied the district’s request to exclude evidence of Brownfield’s complaints to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Civil Rights Enforcement (OCRE), as well as a related school board meeting. Although Brownfield indicated he would not introduce the OCR/OCRE findings themselves, Jackson found the existence and substance of those complaints likely relevant to proving protected activity under Title VII.
Conversely, the court granted the district’s motion to exclude evidence of alleged inappropriate conduct by Brownfield at two football games. The district had cited a 2019 letter from then-Superintendent Leon Ashlock warning Brownfield to refrain from such behavior.
Jackson noted the district had previously found the 2019 letter was not a materially adverse action. He added that the events were disputed and the district had agreed to remove the letter from its files as part of a settlement with Brownfield to dismiss the OCR complaint.
"Ultimately, these matters are not relevant to the alleged retaliation of preventing Plaintiff from coaching youth wrestling, his removal from the substitute teacher list or the denial of an interview for a TPS teaching/coaching position," Jackson wrote.
The court also granted the district’s motion to exclude evidence attacking the propriety of the district’s current or former counsel during the Title IX investigation.
Additionally, the judge granted motions to exclude evidence of settlement offers under Federal Rule of Evidence 408, pretrial motions, and references to former individual defendants, including Ashlock, Matt Cloud, Deann Mashburn, Natalie Cloud, and Kimberly Williams.
The district’s attempt to exclude the Title VII claim entirely was denied. Jackson ruled the district was improperly seeking a substantive dismissal via a motion in limine, noting the claim arises from Brownfield’s employment and participation in an employment practice.
The court granted the district’s request for witness sequestration under Federal Rule of Evidence 615, excluding all potential witnesses from the courtroom during the testimony of other witnesses, except for parties or party representatives.
Brownfield’s case, originally filed in state court in 2021, was removed to federal court. Several claims and parties were dismissed via summary judgment, leaving two retaliation counts against the district: one under Title IX related to his removal from youth wrestling coaching and substitute teaching lists, and one under Title VII related to his April 21 application for a coaching/teaching position.