BATON ROUGE — The state’s top lawyer Thursday said that a tenured law professor removed due to political comments he made during class from his position does not have “carte blanche to say whatever they wish, whenever they wish.”

LSU professor Ken Levy was teaching a class on Jan. 14 about police and public interactions when, according to a lawsuit he filed, he said “F**k the governor” and “f**k that" while criticizing Governor Jeff Landry for publicly rebuking a law school colleague.

Attorney General Liz Murrill, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, said that while freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy, Levy and other public school employees’ rights are not “so boundless that they may deliver any message to anyone anytime they wish."

“The Free Speech Clause generally will not shield the individual from an employer’s control and discipline because that kind of speech is—for constitutional purposes at least—the government’s own speech,” Murrill continued citing the Kennedy decision.

Levy’s lawsuit asked the court to immediately allow Levy to return to his position and to block LSU from interfering with his employment. The lawsuit says that Levy was relieved of his teaching position a few days after his comments were made on Jan. 16.

The suit also alleges a student complained to the governor and calls were made to LSU administration. Levy and the school’s dean met and concluded the meeting with an agreement that the professor could continue to speak his mind about controversial issues.

The lawsuit further says that Levy's comments came about because of a no-recording policy he instated due to an issue involving one of his colleagues at the law school, in which LSU law school professor Nicholas Bryner's lecture was criticized on social media by Landry shortly after the election.

Levy’s lawsuit also asks that the university be blocked from interfering with his speech and employment rights.
Murrill said that an investigation is necessary to account for a school’s rights as an employer and a faculty member’s rights as an employee.

“Professor Levy is entitled to a full appeals process and a hearing to determine where his behavior falls in this analytical framework. And I am confident that he will receive that due process as LSU’s investigation runs its course,” Murrill said.