David Hudson serves as an attorney for the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Center, which is funded by the Freedom Forum, seeks to foster a greater public understanding and appreciation for First Amendment rights and values. Hudson writes for the Freedom Forum's online publication, The Freedom Forum Online, and other leading publications devoted to First Amendment issues. He contributes regularly to the American Bar Association's Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, the Commercial Speech Digest and the ABA Journal.

The First Amendment provides protection to public employees who are retaliated against for their speech or who lose their jobs due to political associations. The U.S. Supreme Court has developed a highly nuanced and complex body of law to address these issues.

This online course seeks to introduce you to some of the leading cases and principles in this area of the law. Please keep in mind that the federal courts of appeals may be split on different issues, or apply slightly different tests. There are even intra-circuit conflicts, as three-judge panel decisions in the same circuit may analyze public-employee First Amendment claims differently.