Churchill v. University of Colorado

Petition here.

News coverage here and here.

Ward Churchill Cert Petition

December 28, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the petition in Churchill v. University of Colorado:

Questions presented:

I. Does a bad faith investigation of all of a tenured professor’s writings and public speeches, undertaken by state university officials in retaliation for the exercise of constitutionally protected speech and with the stated purpose of finding grounds for termination, violate a clearly established right and create a freestanding First Amendment cause of action?

II. Should absolute, quasi-judicial immunity completely shield a state university and its board of regents’ termination decisions, even when a jury has determined that these officials fired a tenured professor in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment and would not have fired him but for his exercise of free speech?

Lower court materials here.

Ward Churchill Firing Affirmed by Colorado Court of Appeals

November 28, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the 66-page opinion: 2010 11-24 CHURCHILL 09CA1713 Judgment Affirmed

Colorado Court of Appeals Briefing in Ward Churchill Appeal

May 12, 2010May 14, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Many of the briefs have been filed in Churchill v. University of Colorado (Colo. App.). More are forthcoming:

Churchill Opening Brief

National Lawyers Guild Amicus Brief

ACLU Amicus Brief

University of Colorado Brief

State of Colorado Amicus Brief–updated (3:05PM)

Extensive lower court materials are at the Race to the Bottom here (a more direct link to lower court documents is here).

ACLU Brief Supporting Ward Churchill in Colo. Court of Appeals

March 8, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

It’s purely a First Amendment argument.

Here.

Ruling in Churchill Reinstatement Motion — Denied

July 8, 2009July 8, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion — Churchill reinstatement ruling

Denver Post article

Of note, even the $1 jury verdict has been vacated.

Churchill’s Reply Brief to CU’s Opposition to Reinstatement

June 4, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

If the inability of Ward Churchill’s attorneys to spell anyone’s name is any indicator, Churchill doesn’t stand a chance.

2009 06-01 CHURCHILL Plaintiffs Reply in Support of his Motion

Ward Churchill Reinstatement Materials — Updated

May 30, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Now that Ward Churchill has won exactly $1 from the University of Colorado via jury, the real fight begins — over reinstatement. The University of Colorado’s brief opposing reinstatement is here.

The brief itself runs from pages 1-32 of the pdf file linked here.

The attachments are of especial importance. Here are a few of the affidavits from (mostly) American Indian academics opposing Churchill’s reinstatement:

Thomas Brown (pdf pages 70-72) (Thomas Brown affidavit)

Elizabeth Cook Lynn (pdf pages 77-80) (Cook-Lynn affidavit content)

Suzan Shown Harjo (pdf pages 81-84) (Harjo affidavit content)

Tom Holm (pdf pages 85-87) (Tom Holm affidavit, sorry the pages aren’t in the right order, but there’s only three)

John LaVelle (pdf pages 88-92) (LaVelle affidavit content)

Patricia Jo King (pdf pages 93-96) (Patricia Jo King affidavit)

David Bradley (pdf pages 97-100) (David Bradley affidavit)

Robert Trepp (pdf pages 101-105) (Robert Trepp affidavit)

Chadwick Smith (pdf pages 106-109) (Chief Smith affidavit content)

Rhonda Lynne Kelly (pdf pages 128-131) (Rhonda Kelly Affidavit content)

Other materials from this case are posted on Denver University’s website, here.

And here are links to a few news stories on this latest filing in the Churchill litigation: The Chronicle, the Colorado Daily, and the Denver Post.