Summarizes some of 2001's more interesting and important court cases regarding free speech in higher education, commenting on their effects on case law. (EV)

Surveys the most significant court cases in 2000 involving First Amendment rights in higher education, especially those that may have received scant attention when decided but which promise to affect campus life for years to come. Provides insight into legal trends and shifting thinking as it applies to the First Amendment in the college and…

Analyzes the origins of recent federal appellate decisions' divergence from the Supreme Court's identification of teachers' or faculty's academic freedom as "a special concern of the First Amendment." Suggests ways in which academic freedom might better be accorded its rightful importance within the framework of current Supreme Court…

Seeks to answer whether a professor's expression is a matter of public concern in order to qualify for constitutional protection; discusses public concern cases involving faculty expression. Suggests that the professor bears a difficult burden in passing this threshold test and that the scope of professors' protected speech has consequently been…

Reviews the most important cases in 1998 involving First Amendment rights in higher education. Notwithstanding the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the mandatory student activity fees case, the issue with the most lasting importance is likely to be that of the regulation of Internet speech by colleges and universities. (SLD)

The rapid development and application to universities and colleges of the constitutional principles of the First Amendment are analyzed with special reference to Healy v. James and its present and possible future ramifications in the area of student affairs including use of university facilities, student conduct, and organizational activities. (JT)

Examines the current state of First Amendment rights of faculty at public colleges and universities. Using as a focus the recent case of Crue v. Aiken, analyzes the place of the prior restraint doctrine and the treatment of public employees in the free speech context, arriving at a conclusion that offers an extension of the restrictions allowed by…

Discusses the most important cases in 1999 related to First Amendment rights in higher education and suggests some trends that may shape behavior on campus in the coming years. The U.S. Supreme Court decision about the constitutionality of mandatory fees at public colleges and universities is likely to be the most significant 1999 decision. (SLD)

Issues concerning athletic law are discussed: whether an athlete may be dismissed for remarks made against the coaching staff, whether the conduct of a coaching staff can result in individual liability for civil rights violations, and whether an athlete's financial aid information is subject to freedom of information legislation. (Author/MLW)

A guide is presented for faculty members and administrators about circumstances in which faculty may speak freely on issues and what procedural safeguards are applicable when disciplinary actions are contemplated. Issues of contracts, interests conflicting with the state's, tests for violation of First Amendment rights, defenses, and remedies are…

The first amendment does not either require or permit government to threaten religiously affiliated colleges and universities with reduced eligibility for public funding in the event of increased religious control over institutional governance or academic functions. However, government may decline to fund education at "pervasively sectarian"…

Examines the civil rights claims raised by a university coach claiming he was forced to resign because he refused to wear contracted Nike apparel. Explores the state of the law regarding restrictions on private employers' control of employees' political activities, and asserts that to make up for the lack of legal protection, employers should…

Discussion of hate speech on college campuses focuses on whether the concept of hate speech encompasses expression deserving full First Amendment protection and thus virtual immunity from college regulation. It is argued that the Supreme Court could sustain some form of hate-speech policy on campus based on precedent elsewhere. (MSE)

Discussion of academic freedom and college teacher dismissal first examines the expectations that institutions should have of faculty, traces the history of academic freedom in America, and looks at conditions that might constitute adequate cause for teacher dismissal. Examples are drawn from court litigation. Catalysts in the institutional…

A university's affirmative responsibility to maintain access to university facilities for first amendment activity may conflict with its equally compelling duty to restrain from interfering with first amendment activity. This dilemma is considered with regard to Mississippi Gay Alliance vs. Goudelock, a case involving editorial censorship of an…