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99 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1007 (2004-2005)
Reconceptualizing Public Employee Speech

handle is hein.journals/illlr99 and id is 1017 raw text is: Copyright 2005 by Northwestern University, School of Law Printed in U.S.A. Northwestern University Law Review Vol. 99, No. 3 Articles RECONCEPTUALIZING PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SPEECH Randy J Kozer I. INTRO DUCTION ................................................................................................... 1007 II. THE CONTOURS AND SHORTFALLS OF DISRUPTION AND PUBLIC CONCERN. 1010 A . The State of the Law .................................................................................. 10 10 B. The Problems with Modern Public Employee Speech Law ....................... 1018 III. THEORIZING THE HOLMESIAN MODEL OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SPEECH ................. 1028 A. Employee Free Speech Rights, Decoupling Governmental Functions, and the M arket for Employm ent ............................................................................. 1028 B. The Holmesian Model and a Richer Ideal of Employer Interests .............. 1034 IV. COSTS, THREATS, AND SAFEGUARDS .................................................................. 1035 A . C osts and Threats ...................................................................................... 1035 B . Safeg uards ................................................................................................ 1038 V. ASSESSING THE HOLMESIAN MODEL AND AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FOR REFORM .......................................................................................................................... 10 4 1 A. Full-Scale Adoption of the Holmesian Model ........................................... 1041 B. The Internal/External M odel ..................................................................... 1044 V I. C ON C LU SIO N ...................................................................................................... 105 1 I. INTRODUCTION If government employees didn't have any free speech rights, America might well be a much quieter place. But tying public employers' hands by denying them the ability to restrict employee speech could take a massive toll on governmental efficiency-a toll that we would all end up paying with our tax dollars. Striking the proper balance between protecting free speech and promoting social order is a tricky enough proposition when the government is acting in its familiar role as sovereign. When we move into the realm of public employee speech, striking the balance gets even Law clerk to Judge Alex Kozinski, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2004-2005). J.D., Harvard Law School. For helpful comments and discussions, thanks to Barry Friedman, Aaron Katz, Anton Met- litsky, Chris Pistilli, David Rosenberg, Fred Schauer, Matt Stephenson, Jay Tidmarsh, Eugene Volokh, and seminar participants at Harvard Law School. For financial support, thanks to the John M. Olin Foundation for Law, Economics, and Business at Harvard Law School. Thanks finally to the editors of the Northwestern University Law Review, whose suggestions and editing were terrific. 1007

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