Edward Vega v. Floyd H. Miller, James C. Desimone, Howard L. English, Carolyn D. Jones, and G. Peter Cooney

JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge,

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent.1

The majority opinion, in my view, overlooks the First Amendment’s prohibition of vague and overbroad restrictions on speech and undermines its protection of

academic freedom as clearly established by the Supreme Court. In finding that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, the majority opinion tells us that a college professor can be fired summarily for engaging in a classroom discussion with students when it reaches a topic that some college administrator either beheves is in violation of a pohcy on sexual…