Free Speech on the Firing Line: The Legal Controversy Continues

Carol B. Gilmore
Martha Broderick

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DOI: 10.2190/LUGG-TK64-42RF-DQDA

Abstract

First Amendment speech rights are increasingly becoming a source of controversy on college and university campuses. As the Supreme Court struggles to establish a balance between the teacher, as citizen, and the university, as employer, the line between protected and unprotected speech has been bent but not broken. An examination of recent court decisions reveals some answers and provides educators with guidelines for determining the nature and extent of the protections offered within the purview of academic free speech rights. Indicators of the more typical issues raised about the conflict between free speech and academia are suggested.

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