[Ppnews] Decision on Ward Churchill reinstatement next week

[Political Prisoner News]

Decision on Ward Churchill reinstatement next week

By <http://www.dailycamera.com/staff/john-aguilar/>John Aguilar 
(<http://www.dailycamera.com/staff/john-aguilar/contact/>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/




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