CHARLES CITY - Portions of a federal lawsuit filed by a former Floyd County deputy won't go any further.

The suit alleged Sheriff Rick Lynch and County Attorney Jesse Marzen violated Darin Crooks' rights when he was fired last year.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa Eastern Division dismissed the following claims by Crooks:

That the firing procedure violated due process rights.

That Marzen made statements stigmatizing Crooks and impairing his good name in violation of the 14th Amendment.

That Marzen and the sheriff conspired to terminate Crooks' employment.

The ruling noted Crooks' claim his employment was terminated in violation of Iowa Code can be refiled in district court. Crooks filed the initial lawsuit in November.

In a letter April 12, 2007, Lynch notified Crooks he was on administrative leave for seven violations of department policy. Later that day, Lynch delivered a second message indicating Crooks had been fired.

On April 13, 2007, the Floyd County Sheriff's Department filed charges against Crooks alleging he had served alcohol to an underage person. Crooks was accused of serving beer to a 20-year-old woman while working at the Comet Bowl in Charles City.

A jury found Crooks not guilty in June 2007.

The Floyd County Civil Service Commission held a hearing on Crooks' termination in May 2007 but adjourned without reaching a decision. Following a second hearing in June of this year, members of the commission upheld Lynch's decision to fire Crooks.

Crooks has filed appeals of the federal court's and the Civil Service Commission's decisions.

Tom Frerichs, the attorney representing Crooks in the federal court case, declined comment.

Contact Mary Pieper at

mary.pieper@globegazette.com.