A Peacock's Tale: Due Process and Free Speech in Academe
Arizona State Law Journal, p. 401, 1986
52 Pages Posted: 31 Jul 2009
Date Written: 1986
Abstract
The 1973 dismissal of Dr. Erie E. Peacock, Jr., as Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine set in motion a long, bitter, and expensive dispute. The struggle involved preliminary motions in federal district court, jury trials, four appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and administrative hearings at the University. In the process, courts and faculty panels considered the issues of protected interests in administrative and teaching positions, procedural due process, academic freedom, and free speech for university personnel. The litigation has legal and practical ramifications in the State of Arizona and nationally. Because of the influence that Dr. Peacock's termination and its aftermath have had upon the university system in Arizona and upon the law affecting academic dismissals generally, as well as the unique longevity of the litigation, a chronicle of his complicated tale of legal and administrative conflict has merit. The history illustrates an avoidable personnel dispute, badly handled by a university; dogged persistence by a proud, somewhat exasperating faculty member resisting a reputation-damaging termination; a legal battle unusual in its duration and intensity; and incalculable damage to faculty morale and to the prestige of a fine educational institution. Perhaps other institutions can learn a valuable lesson in what not to do in comparable situations. In addition, the controversy raises important questions with respect to the required "public concern"' element of speech by academic personnel at public universities, and under what circumstances constitutional protection accompanies their remarks.
Keywords: Academic dismissal, teaching, free speech
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