Legislative Retaliation against University Speech

[Frank Cross]

Mitch's argument contains another presupposition, that many may agree with,
but which needs to be recognized -- that any "worse treatment" for the
"wrong reasons" is constitutionally impermissible.  This need not
necessarily follow.
If you believe that the Constitution does not so much protect private
actions as it prohibits certain government constraints on those private
actions, it needn't be the case that the Constitution prohibits all
government actions of all types.  It is not implausible to argue that a
budgetary action needn't run afoul of the First Amendment, even if it
amounts to "worse treatment" for exercising speech.



Frank Cross
Herbert D. Kelleher Centennial Professor of Business Law
CBA 5.202
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712