Scalia "Vaffanculo" Photographer Fired By Church

Update: How Appealing has this update from the Boston Herald on how many have come to support the Scalia photographer's actions.

Of course, one of the big news stories over the last week was whether Justice Scalia used an obscene gesture when responding to the question of a Boston Herald reporter. 

In order to verify the reporter's account, a photographer for the church newspaper, who was present at the incident, released a photograph showing that Scalia indeed appeared to engage in the obscene Italian gesture.

Now comes word that the Church newspaper for which the photographer freelanced has fired him over the incident.  According to the Boston Herald:

A freelance photographer has been fired by the Archdiocese of Boston’s newspaper for releasing a picture of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia making a controversial gesture in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday.

Peter Smith, who had freelanced for The Pilot newspaper for a decade, lost the job yesterday after the Herald ran his photo on its front page. Smith said he has no regrets about releasing it.

Does Smith have any type of legal claim against the Archdiocese and its newspaper?  Probably not.  Chiefly because what I blogged about the other day concerning the important distinction between employees and indpendent contractors.

The way the paper describes Smith as a "freelancer" for the church paper, it is unlikely that he would be considered an employee.  And as an independnent contractor, and assuming there was no express job protection provisions in his contract, he would probably be unsuccessful in any employment-type claim, including a retaliation or whistle-blowing type claim (of course, even as an employee, such claims might have limited prospects of success).

No one ever said that sticking to one's principles was without cost.

PS