Judge Orders LSU To Reinstate Law Prof Removed From Teaching Due To Political Comments In Class

Following up on Wednesday's post, Tenured Law Prof Sues LSU For Removing Him From Teaching After Allegedly Saying ‘F*** Trump’ In Class:  Louisiana Illuminator, Judge orders LSU to reinstate law Professor Sidelined for Political Comments:

A state judge has ordered LSU to allow its law professor Ken Levy to return to teaching duties. The university had removed Levy from the classroom pending an investigation into alleged criticism of Gov. Jeff Landry.

Levy, a tenured professor of constitutional and criminal law, sued the university earlier this week, saying it violated his First Amendment rights and its own policies regarding tenured faculty.

Judge Don Johnson of the 19th Judicial District granted Levy’s request for a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return to the classroom for at least the next week. Johnson set a hearing for an injunction on Feb. 10. Read the judge’s order below.

“Professor Levy is looking very much forward to his day in court,” Jill Craft, Levy’s attorney, said in an interview. “The rights that are at stake are critical to the foundation of this country. ...

LSU has several policy statements and permanent memoranda that address disciplining a tenured faculty member. These policies call for several layers of review, all of which require peer faculty input. None of this happened before Levy was removed from his classes, which Levy and Craft contend is a form of discipline. ...

The removal of Levy from the classroom led to significant backlash from the public and from LSU law students, who staged a protest Tuesday in his defense. The students delivered a petition to university general counsel Winston DeCuir calling for Levy to be reinstated, apologized to and for complete transparency into the disciplinary process. 

DeCuir has since tendered his resignation. 

Inside Higher Ed, Déjà Vu: An LSU Law Professor Who Discussed Trump in Class Faces Blowback:

In November, Republican Louisiana governor Jeff Landry publicly targeted a law professor at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge for allegedly making meandering—but brief—comments in class about students who voted for Donald Trump. Landry posted on social media a video from an unknown source allegedly showing Nicholas Bryner telling students, “if you voted for Trump on the idea that you don’t like him personally but that you like his policies, I just want you to think about the message that that sends to other people.”

The governor declared online, “This professor has defied the 76 million Americans who voted for President @realDonaldTrump” and called for the institution to punish Bryner. It’s unclear whether LSU ever did—Bryner and the university haven’t commented on the outcome, while Daniel Tirone, president of LSU Baton Rouge’s Faculty Senate, said he hasn’t heard of any discipline for Bryner, who has tenure.

However, a lawyer representing another LSU Baton Rouge law professor says her client has now been suspended from teaching, pending an investigation of his own in-class comments. Ken Levy, the Holt B. Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the flagship LSU campus, had referenced both Trump and Landry in his lecture—which was also recorded.

Levy, who also has tenure, received a suspension letter Jan. 17 from a human resources official, according to a copy provided by Jill Craft, his attorney. It says, “You are being relieved of your teaching responsibilities, effective immediately, pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in your class during the first week of the Spring Semester 2025.”

What were Levy’s actual comments? On Jan. 14, he was explaining his course rules to Administration of Criminal Justice students—including a ban on recording the class. A recording was nevertheless made; a student who supports Levy provided it to Inside Higher Ed, but it’s unclear where it originated. Craft said students with classroom accommodations were allowed to record. ...

Later in the class, Levy referenced Trump. Talking about how criminal law and procedure have changed over time, Levy said, “We’re now about to move into an autocracy anyway, so a lot of this may be moot in about two weeks.” He said, “You probably heard I’m a big lefty, I’m a big Democrat, I was devastated by— I couldn’t believe that fucker won, and those of you who like him, I don’t give a shit, you’re already getting ready to say in your evaluations, ‘I don’t need his political commentary.’ No, you need my political commentary, you above all others.”

Levy also said, “I don’t know what Trump is doing, I don’t care what he’s doing, if they’re going to kill me they’re going to kill me … I’ve just tuned out the news and— It’s too depressing, and those of you who like it, you know, what’s wrong with you?” There were more laughs from students.

• ABA Journal, Law Prof Who Used F-word While Criticizing Political Leaders Must Be Reinstated, For Now, Judge Says
• The Hayride, I’m Not Sure I’d Trust Ken Levy To Teach Law To LSU Law Students
• New Orleans Times-Picayune, Judge Tells LSU to Return Law Professor Who Criticized Jeff Landry Back to the Classroom
• WAFB, HEAR THE TAPES: What the LSU Law Professor Said That Got Him Kicked Out Of the Classroom

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• LSU Law Prof Removed From Classes Amid Investigation Into Political Comments (Jan. 22, 2025)
• Tenured Law Prof Sues LSU For Removing Him From Teaching After Allegedly Saying ‘F*** Trump’ In Class (Jan. 29, 2025)

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