State Supreme Court Set To Hear Case From Former Marquette Professor

A dispute between Marquette University and a conservative former professor at the Milwaukee school is going before the Wisconsin Supreme Court this week to decide whether the teacher’s termination was because of a blog post or his conduct.

Former political science professor John McAdams says in a lawsuit he was fired for exercising his freedom of speech by criticizing what he saw as an instructor shutting down a discussion against gay marriage.

But the school has maintained that it was not what the professor wrote that led to his firing in 2016, but rather his “doxing” of the instructor — publicizing someone’s personal identifying information online to subject them to harassment — who was also a graduate student.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the case has gained attention among conservative activists, “who generally argue for giving universities more latitude to fire faculty and mock tenure. This case swings in favor of job protections because conservatives believe their viewpoints are being stifled on college campuses.”