Governor Jeff Landry is pushing the LSU Board of Supervisors to take action after an LSU Law School professor was critical of President-elect Donald Trump during one of his lectures.
That lecture was caught on video and posted to Governor Landry's social media pages. Landry later wrote a letter to the LSU Board of Supervisors, reminding them of a recently-enacted state law, Act 584, prohibiting instructors at the state's public universities from "imposing their political views onto students."
However, a legal analyst points out an irony in Landry's crusade. According to Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino, the LSU professor's comments are protected by the First Amendment's free speech clause. In addition, Supreme Court precedent states that academic freedom is protected under the First Amendment.
"The professor certainly has the right to say what he wanted to say about the election," Ciolino said. "(Landry and the LSU professor) should both be free to say what they want to say about the election, but there should be no discipline imposed upon this professor for what he said."
Ciolino says the professor would have a legal case if LSU or any other state agency takes action against him. According to Ciolino, that's because LSU is a public institution, and any disciplinary action could be construed as the government silencing speech it dislikes.
"If this professor were subject to formal discipline or any sort of adverse job action as a result of his speech in the classroom, then the professor would certainly would likely have some cause of action against the university for that sort of discipline," Ciolino said. "When it comes to imposing discipline, that would be a step too far under the First Amendment and under the basic principles of academic freedom."
