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<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>July 7, 2009<br><br>
On April 2, 2009, after hearing evidence for a month, a Denver jury
unanimously found that Ward Churchill had been fired from the University
of Colorado <i>not</i> because of research misconduct but in retaliation
for speech protected by the First Amendment. <br><br>
After more than four years of political attacks on Ward Churchill, a
clear statement had been made: the University of Colorado had
violated the U.S. Constitution when it fired Churchill, a tenured full
professor of American Indian Studies. <br><br>
The normal remedy in such cases? Reinstatement. <br><br>
Today, July 7, 2009, Judge Larry Naves of the Denver District Court threw
out the jury’s verdict, adopting the University’s argument that the
Regents have “quasi-judicial” immunity from such lawsuits. In
essence, this means that the Regents and University administrators are
free to continue to violating the Constitution.<br><br>
In a 42-page opinion lifted wholesale from the University’s pleadings,
Judge Naves went on to explain why Ward Churchill should not be given
front pay, back pay, or be reinstated. <br><br>
All of these are irrelevant, of course, if the jury’s verdict is not
upheld. But the fact that the judge went to such pains to adopt the
University’s arguments – which often directly contravened the factual
record in this case – speaks volumes.<br><br>
This ruling simply confirms what we have observed so often. When
given access to the facts, regular people on the street can make clear,
reasoned decisions that uphold constitutional values. It is rare,
however, to find persons in positions of power who will not bow to
political pressure. <br><br>
Attorney David Lane will, of course, appeal this decision. Ward
Churchill’s reaction? “I can’t think of any way to improve upon
Steve Earle’s line from <i>The Hard Way</i>: ‘There are some who
break and bend. I’m the other kind.’”<br><br>
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