http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/01/31/in-search-of-ward-churchill/
This is an interesting contrast with the Norman Finkelstein interview I just posted. Like him, Ward is "unemployable" but has made a much better adjustment. As someone who kept a close watch on Ward's situation up until the time he actually ran out of legal options to hold on to his job, I was surprised at how little I knew about the climax of the legal proceedings. This is really eye-opening, from Josh Franks' interview: JF: Let me stop you for a moment at this point. It seems clear enough that the jury’s verdict would serve to exonerate you of the scholarly offenses alleged by the university. But, then, the judge vacated the verdict, didn’t he? WC: Yes, he did. But it’s important to understand that he didn’t do so on the basis that the jury somehow erred in its understanding either of the law or of the facts involved. The verdict therefore remains unaltered: I didn’t do what the university claimed I did—that was simply an elaborate pretext—and it violated my constitutional rights by firing me for the actual reasons involved. What the judge ruled was that such things were utterly irrelevant. Why? Because, he said, the regents enjoy “quasi-judicial immunity” from the consequences of their actions, at least when it comes to personnel matters. So, even though they’d plainly violated my constitutional rights by firing me, and had systematically defamed me by conjuring up the pretext of my supposed scholarly fraud, I had no legal recourse. In effect, I’d never had standing to bring suit in the first place. --- This is a very important interview that I urge you to read in its entirety. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
