qwardian
07.05.09, 14:29
...pożegnaj się z kultem religijnym, ateistycznym, ale przede
wszystkim z własną opinią i wolnością wyrażania się. Oświecenie w
swojej poprawności, zamknęło usta w zasadzie wszystkim. Oczywiście w
zamierzeniu miała zamknąć tylko tylko osobom religijnym, ale końcowe
efekty w takich wypadkach przynoszą nieobliczalne rezultaty, coś co
Żydzi zresztą powinni wiedzieć najlepiej.
www.ocregister.com/articles/corbett-religion-court-2387684-farnan-selna
James Corbett, who has taught at Capistrano Valley High School in
Mission Viejo for the past 20 years, has been found guilty of
disparaging Christians in class in violation of the First Amendment.
Sued by a former student in December 2007, Corbett remains in his
teaching position at the school.
Friday, May 1, 2009
High school teacher's anti-Creationism comment violated law
Mission Viejo history teacher James Corbett violated the First
Amendment, a federal court rules.
SANTA ANA – A Mission Viejo high school history teacher violated the
First Amendment by disparaging Christians during a classroom
lecture, a federal judge ruled today.
James Corbett, a 20-year teacher at Capistrano Valley High School,
referred to Creationism as “religious, superstitious nonsense”
during a 2007 classroom lecture, denigrating his former Advanced
Placement European history student, Chad Farnan.
The decision is the culmination of a 16-month legal battle between
Corbett and Farnan – a conflict the judge said should remind
teachers of their legal “boundaries” as public school employees.
"Corbett states an unequivocal belief that Creationism
is 'superstitious nonsense,'" U.S. District Court Judge James Selna
said in a 37-page ruling released from his Santa Ana courtroom. "The
court cannot discern a legitimate secular purpose in this statement,
even when considered in context."
________________________________________
Click here to read a follow-up story that analyzes the judge's
decision from a constitutional law perspective.
________________________________________
In a December 2007 lawsuit, Farnan, then a sophomore, accused
Corbett of repeatedly promoting hostility toward Christians in class
and advocating "irreligion over religion" in violation of the First
Amendment's establishment clause.
The establishment clause prohibits the government from making any
law "respecting an establishment of religion" and has been
interpreted by U.S. courts to also prohibit government employees
from displaying religious hostility.
"We are thrilled with the judge's ruling and feel it sets great
precedent," said Farnan's attorney, Jennifer Monk, who works for the
Christian legal group Advocates for Faith &Freedom in
Murrieta. "Hopefully, teachers in the future, including Dr. Corbett,
will think about what they're saying and attempt to ensure they're
not violating the establishment clause as Dr. Corbett has done."
Chad Farnan and his parents did not immediately return a phone call
seeking comment, but released a prepared statement through their
attorney: "We are proud of Chad's courageous stand and thrilled with
the judge's ruling. It is a vindication of his constitutional
rights."
Fees, injunction to be determined
Farnan's original lawsuit asked for damages and attorney's fees.
These issues – plus a possible court injunction prohibiting Corbett
from making hostile remarks about religion – will be considered in
court at a future, undetermined date, Monk said.
Advocates for Faith &Freedom does not have an estimate yet of the
legal fees the group incurred, she added.
Selna said that although Corbett was only found to have violated the
establishment clause in a single instance, he could not excuse or
overlook the behavior.
"To entertain an exception for conduct that might be characterized
as isolated or de minimis undermines the basic right in issue: to be
free of a government that directly expresses disapproval of
religion," Selna said.
Farnan's lawsuit had cited more than 20 inflammatory statements
attributed to Corbett, including "Conservatives don't want women to
avoid pregnancies – that's interfering with God's work" and "When
you pray for divine intervention, you're hoping that the spaghetti
monster will help you get what you want."
In an April 3 tentative ruling, however, Selna dismissed all but two
of the statements as either not directly referring to religion or as
being appropriate in the context of a class lecture, including the
headline-grabbing "When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see
the truth."
"We're happy that the court saw 99.9 percent of the case our way,
but we're disappointed obviously with regard to finding against Dr.
Corbett on that one statement," said Corbett's attorney, Dan
Spradlin.
Corbett, who has declined all requests to be interviewed about the
lawsuit, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Lemon test applied to statements
Selna applied a three-pronged legal analysis known as the Lemon test
to determine whether the establishment clause had been violated.
The Lemon test, developed during a 1971 federal court case, asks
whether a statement has a secular purpose, whether it advances or
inhibits religion as its principal or primary effect, and whether it
fosters an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.
Corbett made his "superstitious nonsense" remark during a class
discussion about a 1993 court case in which former Capistrano Valley
High science teacher John Peloza sued the Capistrano Unified School
District, challenging its requirement that Peloza teach evolution.
Corbett's attorney said Corbett simply expressing his personal
opinion that Peloza shouldn't have presented religious views to
students. Selna, after reviewing an audio-taped recording of the
discussion, decided that wasn't the case and that Corbett crossed a
legal line.
For the other disputed statement – in which Corbett was accused of
saying religion was "invented when the first con man met the first
fool" – the judge ruled in Corbett's favor, arguing Corbett may have
been simply attempting to quote American author Mark Twain.
Corbett's full statement was, "What was it Mark Twain
said? 'Religion was invented when the first con man met the first
fool.'"
The Capistrano Unified School District, which paid for Corbett's
attorney, was found not liable for Corbett's classroom conduct.
Corbett remains in his teaching position at Capistrano Valley High.
Farnan, who dropped out of Corbett's class after filing the lawsuit,
is now a junior at the school.
"The court's ruling today reflects the constitutionally permissible
need for expansive discussion even if a given topic may be offensive
to a particular religion or if a particular religion takes one side
of a historical debate," Selna said in his written decision.
"The decision also reflects that there are boundaries. … The ruling
today protects Farnan, but also protects teachers like Corbett in
carrying out their teaching duties."
