ABSTRACT

This article offers an analysis of how, and to what extent, public institutions of higher learning, as agents of one sovereign, could assert free speech rights against the federal government, another sovereign. This work expands the First Amendment and government speech discourse by contributing a novel examination of Supreme Court precedent and the Court’s language addressing the expressive activities of universities under academic freedom. This work also situates itself theoretically in the Madisonian conception of the First Amendment Free Speech Clause, and makes the case that public universities should be recognized as institutions that occupy a special constitutional status within the doctrine. The article’s significance is underscored by the fact that the current political climate raises the specter of increased regulation and policing of the expressive activities of universities.

摘要

本文分析了作为一个君主的代理人的公共高等教育机构如何以及在何种程度上可以主张针对另一君主的联邦政府的言论自由权。这项工作通过对最高法院判例和法院用语言处理大学在学术自由下的表达活动的语言进行了新颖的考察，从而扩展了《第一修正案》和政府演讲的内容。这项工作在理论上也处于麦迪逊式的第一修正案言论自由条款的概念之中，并提出了公立大学应被视为在该学说中享有特殊宪法地位的机构的情况。