Lawprof’s First Amendment Case Against Univ. of Kentucky, and a Case’s “Journey so Circuitous it Would Make a Baggins Blush”

A University of Kentucky law professor is challenging the university’s investigation and removal from teaching duties, arguing that its actions punish his speech about Israel and Palestine. A federal judge is considering his request to halt the investigation and restore his teaching role, in a case whose procedural route through the courts has been unusually drawn out.

Ramsi Woodcock, a tenured professor, was promoted to full professor in July 2025, then called in for questioning the following week. The university opened a formal investigation over alleged comments made in various settings, including emails, a conference panel and remarks to students; the article says none occurred in class or appears to have disrupted university activities. The investigation cited possible policy violations and concerns about a hostile environment, while Woodcock’s lawsuit also alleges due process violations and discrimination. The Sixth Circuit ruled that the preliminary investigation did not qualify as an ongoing proceeding requiring federal abstention, sending the case back to the district court.