The case of Board of Trustees of Keene State College et al. v. Sweeney in 1978 revolved around the First Amendment rights and academic freedom within a public college setting. The plaintiff, Dr. Richard Sweeney, was an associate professor at Keene State College who had been denied tenure by the school's board of trustees due to his controversial teaching methods and views that were deemed unprofessional by some faculty members and administrators. He filed suit claiming that this denial violated his First Amendment rights as it was based on the content of his speech rather than its form or manner. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sweeney, stating that while colleges have a legitimate interest in promoting effective teaching and maintaining professional standards among their staff, they cannot infringe upon an individual’s constitutional right to free speech under the guise of these interests unless there is clear evidence showing such speech disrupts educational activities or undermines institutional effectiveness. This landmark decision underscored the importance placed on protecting freedom of expression within academia even when such expressions may be considered unconventional or unpopular.

In the dissenting opinion for Board of Trustees of Keene State College et al. v. Sweeney, Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold New Hampshire's law requiring state employees to swear an oath that they have not advocated overthrowing the government by force or violence. He argued that this requirement was overly broad and could potentially infrict upon First Amendment rights, as it did not distinguish between advocating such action in a theoretical sense versus actually intending to incite illegal activity. Furthermore, he contended that there were already sufficient laws in place to deal with any actual threats against national security without resorting to measures which might suppress free speech and thought unnecessarily.