Churchill loses in Colorado Supreme Court

Ward Churchill loses appeal to win back CU job

By Steven K. PaulsonThe attorney for a former University of Colorado professor who lost his appeal to get his job back after he compared some Sept. 11 victims with a Nazi said Monday he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled university officials qualified for immunity.

Churchill attorney David Lane said the appeal will be over claims that Ward Churchill's free speech rights were violated.

"The court never said his First Amendment rights were not violated. They simply said the regents are above the law, which is a dangerous precedent," Lane said.Churchill Loses in State Supreme Court

By Carol BerryEmbattled former professor Ward Churchill failed what may be his last chance in a five-year civil rights lawsuit against the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU). The Colorado Supreme Court ruled September 10 that university officials enjoyed immunity from legal action when they fired him.

The state’s high court affirmed the Colorado Court of Appeals and the state trial court, “both of which held that Professor Ward Churchill was not entitled to any of the remedies he sought,” and said the state Supreme Court “holds that the Regents’ termination proceeding was a quasi-judicial proceeding and the Regents are entitled to absolute immunity.”

The state’s high court also upheld the trial court’s ruling that denied the former tenured professor’s reinstatement or front pay in lieu of regaining his position.Comment:  For more on Ward Churchill, see Peltier Calls Churchill a "Phony" and Churchill Loses Firing Appeal.