Decision on Ward Churchill reinstatement
next week
By John Aguilar (
Contact)
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jul/01/ward-churchill-cu-boulder-reinstatement-hearing/
Originally published 10:18 a.m., July 1, 2009
Updated 04:37 p.m., July 1, 2009
Camera reporter John Aguilar is covering Ward Churchill's reinstatement
hearing and will be filing live updates throughout the day from the courtroom
in Denver District Court.
The former University of Colorado professor is asking Chief Denver District
Court Judge Larry Naves to give him his job back. Churchill was fired nearly
two years ago by the CU regents after the school claimed he had committed
widespread and systematic academic fraud.
Update: 4:37 p.m.
Chief Denver District Judge Larry Naves broke court for the day and asked
the lawyers to submit final papers in the case on Thursday.
He said he would likely have a final ruling on whether Ward Churchill gets his
job back by early next week.
Before court ended, Churchill attorney David Lane cross-examined CU Chancellor
Phil DiStefano on the stand.
He asked the chancellor what the appropriate remedy is -- given a jury's
finding earlier this year that CU violated Churchill's constitutional rights --
short of giving his client his job back.
"If he didn't commit research misconduct, I would support him coming back
to the university," DiStefano said.
But Lane challenged the chancellor asking him if the jury verdict didn't
essentially conclude that the school couldn't prove that CU let the professor
go for any other reason.
"Your position flies right in the face of what the jury found, doesn't
it?" Lane asked.
He asked DiStefano if CU had held any meetings to discuss how the school could
figure how to stop violating people's constitutional rights.
The chancellor said no.
On re-direct, CU attorney Patrick O'Rourke asked DiStefano if the jury verdict
form mentioned anything about Churchill plagiarizing, fabricating or falsifying
his scholarship.
DiStefano said no.
The chancellor said he inferred from the jury's award of a single dollar to
Churchill that it felt he had not suffered any damages worthy of reinstatement.
The final witness of the day was Richard Jessor, the longest serving faculty
member at CU. He is a professor of behavioral science.
He said he opposes Churchill getting his job back.
"The entire enterprise of scholarship relies competely on trust and
insofar as that is violated, it betrays the mission of inquiry and
scholarship," Jessor said. "I feel that it is the responsibility of a
faculty member who has made a commitment to the university to preserve the
highest standards of scholarship and integrity and I feel that reinstatement
would be a violation of those things."
Jessor testified that reinstating Churchill would essentially
"negate" the process the university put into place to evaluate its
faculty.
On cross-examination, Jessor said he disagreed with the Privilege & Tenure
Committee's majority decision to not recommend Churchill's firing though he
agreed with its conclusion the professor had committed academic fraud
ARTICLE CONTINUES here:
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jul/01/ward-churchill-cu-boulder-reinstatement-hearing/
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863-9977
www.Freedomarchives.org
--
Free All Political Prisoners!
nycjericho@gmail.com • www.jerichony.org
____________________________________________________________
Criminal Lawyers - Click here.