Big First Amendment Victory for University Professors (and taxpayers and students)

“In a victory for free speech on campus, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling  (Demers v. Austin)  yesterday addressing a question raised but not answered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006): whether the First Amendment protects public college faculty members’ speech “related to scholarship or teaching,” despite the Court’s holding in Garcetti that public employees may be disciplined for “speech made pursuant to the employee’s official duties.” Writing for a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel in yesterday’s opinion (PDF), Judge William Fletcher stated unequivocally that “Garcetti does not—indeed, consistent with the First Amendment, cannot—apply to teaching and academic writing that are performed ‘pursuant to the official duties’ of a teacher and professor.”

 

if you care about First Amendment rights, esp. on college campuses, please visit the FIRE  website at the link. They are an extremely valuable organization for those love liberty!