On May 31, 2011, the Supreme Court of Colorado granted Ward Churchill's petition for certiorari, announcing that it will review all three of the issues raised by Prof. Churchill:
1. Whether a public university’s investigation of a tenured professor’s work product can constitute an adverse employment action for the purposes of a First Amendment claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when, as a result of the investigation, the tenured professor also experiences adverse employment action in the form of termination.
2. Whether the granting of quasi-judicial immunity to the Regents of the University of Colorado for their termination of a tenured professor comports with federal law for actions brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
3. Whether the denial of equitable remedies for termination in violation of the First Amendment undermines the purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
