Ward Churchill, lost his appeal to get his job back after he compared Sept. 11 victims with a Nazi, will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled against him.
His termination in 2007 came after an essay he wrote describing some victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi leader who helped orchestrate the Holocaust.
In its ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court said Churchill had five opportunities to present his own witnesses, cross-examine opposing witnesses and argue his case before the board following allegations Churchill plagiarized some of his academic writings, fabricated evidence and violated the university's academic standards.
"Although we are mindful that a full-fledged, years-long investigation into a professor's academic record taken in bad faith could chill the continued exercise of free speech, we conclude that the federal case law in this area is too unsettled to defeat the regents' claim of qualified immunity," the state Supreme Court judges ruled.
A civil jury in 2009 found the school unlawfully fired Churchill but awarded him only $1 in damages. However, a Denver District judge set aside the verdict and said university regents, who are elected, are a "quasi-judicial" panel with immunity from the lawsuit.
Couldn't happen to a nicer phony.
Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.
Posts
