I
wrote about it at the outset of this week (blog posting - 24 March). The trial, Adams v. The Trustees of the University of North Carolina–Wilmington,
began Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina,
Southern Division. Well, the jury issued
a verdict – they found the University of North Carolina–Wilmington retaliated
against one of its professors … formerly an atheist now converted to
Christianity … for his religious and political views. Last year, a federal court found sufficient
evidence to warrant a trial after an appeals court determined that the 1st
Amendment protects the views criminology professor Dr. Mike Adams published in
opinion columns with which university officials disagreed.
Adams’
conversion to Christianity in 2000 impacted his views on political and social
issues. Subsequently, the university subjected
Adams to a campaign of academic persecution that culminated in his denial of
promotion to full professor, despite an award-winning record of teaching,
research, and service.
“We
are grateful that the jury reaffirmed the fundamental principle that
universities are a market-place of ideas, not a place where professors face
retaliation for having a different view than university officials,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Litigation
Staff Counsel Travis Barham … who participated in the trial this week. “As the jury decided, disagreeing with an
accomplished professor's religious and political views is no grounds for
denying him a promotion.”
“The
jury saw what we have long known to be true about the wrong done to Dr. Adams” said
Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The
verdict is a powerful message for academic freedom and free speech at America's
public universities.”
The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit wrote in 2011 that “no individual
loses his ability to speak as a private citizen by virtue of public employment …
Adams’ columns addressed topics such as academic freedom, civil rights, campus
culture, sex, feminism, abortion, homosexuality, religion, and morality. Such topics plainly touched on issues of
public, rather than private, concern.”
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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