How one post on Facebook could clarify free speech rights – The Indiana Lawyer

Last month, Suzanne Swierc was handed a manila envelope—the word “confidential” stamped across it in red ink—and told her employment with Ball State University was being terminated. Her employee ID and office keys were taken, and within about five minutes, she was out of the job she had moved 1,000 miles for. The reason? The one hundred and forty words she posted on her private Facebook account regarding the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk. Geoffrey Mearns Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns said in Swierc’s termination letter that the post caused an “unprecedented level of disruption” for the university. Swierc, formerly Ball State’s director of health promotion and advocacy, swiftly responded with a federal lawsuit against Mearns, alleging that her termination violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Now both sides are waiting for the court to decide whether the line drawn by Ball State on the free-speech rights of its public employees was appropriate or whether Swierc should have been granted more leeway. While the university stands by its decision, a university spokesperson said in a written statement to The Indiana Lawyer that the school does not comment on pending litigation. The complaint Swierc’s complaint, filed by the
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