From Inside Higher Ed: Many people associate tenure with being the ultimate protection of freedom of expression for faculty members. But professors at public colleges — arguably even those without tenure — may have a more powerful protection: the First Amendment. Courts have interpreted the First Amendment to offer broad protections to public employees — especially with regard to what employees of public colleges say and write.
A case before the U.S. Supreme Court, however, could limit those rights — even though the case has nothing to do with higher education.
The case involves a dispute over statements made by Richard Ceballos, a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles. Ceballos was demoted and transferred after he told his supervisors that he believed a deputy sheriff had made false statements in seeking a warrant. Ceballos then sued and as his suit has gone through the judicial process, it has taken on much broader issues than whether Ceballos was treated unfairly. Some of the issues concern the immunity of state and local governments from being sued.
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