Judging Freedom - Princeton Fed Professor to the Cancel Culture Mob

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

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Good morning, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Tuesday, May 24, 2022. It's about 1140 in the morning here on the east coast of the United States. Last weekend, I attended my 50th 5-0 class reunion at Princeton University. Obviously, Princeton was a very different place when I was an undergraduate there between 1968 and 1972. But one of the raging issues on campus today as we speak, even though today is the graduation for the class of 2022, is the persecution of a brilliant and gifted and 25-year faculty member by the name of Professor Joshua Katz. Full disclosure, Professor Katz is a friend of mine. He is one of the world's foremost classics authorities, an expert on Greek and Roman history. Professor Katz also believes in speaking his mind. And Professor Katz had a consensual sexual relationship with a student in 2007. 2007.

The university found out about it. He acknowledged it. He accepted the punishment of being suspended without pay for a year. All was well. Very popular. Students love him. Terrific professor. the punishment of being suspended without pay for a year. All was well, very popular, students love him, terrific professor. Then Professor Katz got involved in a brouhaha with a group that doesn't exist on campus any longer. And in the brouhaha, he referred to them

as a local terrorist group. Because the group was African-American and he referred to them as a local terrorist group. Because the group was African American and he referred to them as terrorists, all hell broke loose and the administration, starting with the president, Chris Eisgruber, condemned Professor Katz for using this language. And in order to get back at him for using the language and defending himself, they opened up the investigation of the 2007 consensual relationship and decided to punish him again. And yesterday he was fired. So he was punished twice for the same event. Now, can a private university do this? In New Jersey, the answer is no. In New Jersey, the case law is that if a private school is going to discipline a teacher or a student, they must follow basic, not precise, but basic due process, basic fairness. That gives you notice of the charges,

you're entitled to a hearing, it has to be a fair hearing. It has to be before a neutral board. You have the right to cross-examine your accusers. That's all basic due process. And the most fundamental, you can't be prosecuted twice for the same event. The whole purpose of prohibiting that is to prohibit the repeated attempts to convict. The government can't prosecute you twice for the to convict. The government can't prosecute you twice for the same events. The feds can't prosecute you twice for the same event. A state can't prosecute you twice for the same event. And in New Jersey, your employer can't prosecute you twice for the same event. Of course, the prosecution was really a subterfuge of silencing him and punishing him because of his determination to honor the freedom of speech.

I don't know where this is going to go. One of his lawyers is a friend of mine. I haven't spoken to the lawyer. Normally, this would not be front page news, but it is on the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, perhaps because Joshua Katz is a brilliant legal scholar who refused to be cowed and refused to be silenced. God bless him. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.