Mulligan v. Nichols

Issue: (1) Whether a judge or jury should decide the fact-intensive question of whether government retaliation is severe enough to deter a person of "ordinary firmness" from continuing to engage in conduct that is protected by the First Amendment; and (2) whether a heightened standard of proof applies when the government retaliates against a citizen through speech, even when the government acts to deter a citizen from petitioning it for a redress of grievances and the individual suffers severe economic injury because of the retaliation.