Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom：A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State

A?leadingAmericanlegalscholaroffersasurprisingaccountoftheincompletenessofprevailingtheoriesoffreedomofspeech.RobertC.PostshowsthatthefamiliarunderstandingoftheFirstAmendment,whichstressesthe“marketplaceofideas”andwhichholdsthat"everyoneisentitledtoanopinion,"isinadequatetocreateandpreservetheexpertknowledgethatisnecessaryforamoderndemocracytothrive.Foramodernsocietyreliablytoanswersuchquestionsaswhethernicotinecausescancer,thefreeandopenexchangeofideasmustbecomplementedbystandardsofscientificcompetenceandpracticethatarebothhierarchicalandjudgmental.PostdevelopsatheoryofFirstAmendmentrightsthatseekstoexplainboththeneedforthefreeformationofpublicopinionandtheneedforthedistributionandcreationofexpertise.Alongthewayheoffersanewandusefulaccountofconstitutionaldoctrinesofacademicfreedom.Thesedoctrinesdependbothuponfreeexpressionandthenecessityofthekindsofprofessionaljudgmentthatuniversitiesexercisewhentheygrantordenytenure,orthatprofessionaljournalsexercisewhentheyacceptorrejectsubmissions.