An alleged right of a teacher to speak freely without the fear of firing or other reprisals. Academic freedom includes the authority of the university to manage an academic community and evaluate teaching and scholarship free from interference by other units of government, including the courts. See University of Pennsylvania v. EEOC, 493 U.S. 182, 107 L. Ed. 2d 571, 110 S. Ct. 577 (1990); University of Michigan v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214, 88 L. Ed. 2d 523, 106 S. Ct. 507 (1985); Southworth, 529 U.S. at 237-39 (Souter, J., concurring).
The constitutionalization of “academic freedom” began with the concurring opinion of Justice Frankfurter in Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957). Sweezy, a Marxist economist, was investigated by the Attorney General of New Hampshire on suspicion of being a subversive. The prosecution sought, inter alia, the contents of a lecture Sweezy had given at the University of New Hampshire. The Court held that the investigation violated due process. Id., at 254.
Justice Frankfurter went further, however, reasoning that the First Amendment created a right of academic freedom that prohibited the investigation. Id., at 256-267 (opinion concurring in result). Much ...