From Martindale at OC Register:
SANTA ANA – A federal judge today postponed deciding whether to shield high school history teacher James Corbett from financial liability after he was found to have disparaged religion in class.
U.S. District Judge James Selna had issued a tentative ruling last week indicating he would effectively bar 17-year-old Chad Farnan of Mission Viejo from recovering any monetary damages or legal fees in the nearly 2-year-old case, but declined to make that ruling final today after a 45-minute hearing in his Santa Ana courtroom.
“I will take one more look at this,” Selna said after Farnan’s attorneys convinced him that such a ruling might be prejudicial.
Corbett, 62, was found to have violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause in May when he referred to Creationism as "religious, superstitious nonsense" during a fall 2007 lecture at Mission Viejo’s Capistrano Valley High School.
just another case of the right-wing Christian coalition types pushing their agenda on everyone else at the expense of taxpayers, students, teachers, and parents
it was a frivolous suit, but they won their point, and should now back off of collecting damages or lawyers fees, as the pain and burden will be felt by everyone
Posted by: Reformers......HAH! | September 02, 2009 at 10:28 AM
No one knows what would've happened if the teacher did this or that. I used to work with Dr. Corbett twenty years ago,and ere's one thing every aware student at CVHS knows: Dr. Corbett speaks his mind; Dr. Corbett challenges his students and their beliefs to make them THINK and debate, not comply; Dr. Corbett can be harsh in his presentation, but again to make students THINK and debate, not comply. If this kid was smart enough to be in an AP class to begin with, he should have been smart enough to know this about Dr. Corbett. What a weak mind this poor young man must have to be so easily rattled by a mere man whose opinion differs from his. Too bad his parents chose the lawsuit route as opposed to teaching their son about compassion (they could have told him to feel sorry for and pray for such a lost soul); they could have taught him about developing strenth through his faith; they could have taught him any number of valuable life lessons, but instead they taught him to be a big whiner who can't handle a little controversy or conflict. I hope my daughter never dates this kid!
Oh, Tax Payer, don't you ever refer to educators as "servants" again. It is a demeaning term that insinuates that you are somehow superior, which is clearly untrue as evidenced from your post(s).
Have a nice day, everyone.
Posted by: Seriously? | September 02, 2009 at 10:31 AM
The whole lawsuit, the law firm that represents Chat and his family, the whole political atmosphere is about the right-wing evangelicals trying to grab control over every aspect of life in this country. All at our expense. Vouchers, schools of choice, intelligent design, Palin's antics, OC GOP,Recall Group,PRI, and so on...
Step back and think about this. This is the fascist movement that will stop of nothing. Think about the consequences for minorities, other religion, and even the freedom of speech. If you do not agree with them will they turn another cheek. I doubt that.
Posted by: US | September 02, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Seriously,
A well-argued post. Lost in all of this is that dear, sweet Chad apparently went out of his way to provoke Corbett. When this first came out, several or his students publicly stated that it was Chad who often tried to bring up religion and make religious subjects more heated in debate. Corbett should have exercised better judgment, that's definitely true, but come on - its like poking a dog. You shouldn't be surprised when it bites you. What did dear, sweet little Chaddie expect?
Oh wait. Never mind. He was taping Corbett in violation of state law. I think he knew exactly what to expect.
Posted by: CUSD teacher | September 02, 2009 at 11:29 AM
CUSD teacher,
Is then anyone going after Chad? Are there any lawyers who would like to look into that? What happend to his Christian values and upbringing?
This is this kind of duplicity that I cannot stand with these people,
Posted by: US | September 02, 2009 at 12:22 PM
I became a teacher many years ago and have always believed that as an educator, (NOT a servant), we should teach the curriculum not belief systems. It is not our job to convince or sway the minds of our students, but rather to present the material that is state adopted, and allow the students to develop their own belief systems. It is also very wrong for students to use the same "superior mentality" approach or attack on teachers. This lawsuit reeks of the same mentality that it is opposing. What happened to respecting others for their personal doctrines and asking them to do the same?
This type of lawsuit is another waste of time, energy, and tax payer dollars. Mr. Corbett's side should be told, as well as how far he was pushed by the student.
Posted by: system is broken | September 02, 2009 at 01:30 PM
System is broken,
Thank you very much for your post. It was very telling. Now, can I ask you to dig deeper and tell us why the system is broken? This is what we need to know to fix it. BTW it is not the publis school system that is broken.
Posted by: US | September 02, 2009 at 02:13 PM
Very interesting comments. One poster described Mr. Corbett as "hard-working". I have to disagree. Loud-mouthed, yes. Biased? Yes. Arrogant? Yes. Offensive? Yes. Gives out incorrect information at times? Yes. Hard-working? I'm not so sure.
I don't think he should have been fired, per se, but definitely needs sensitivity training.
Posted by: afraid to post my name because the Corbett groupies will attack me | September 02, 2009 at 03:01 PM
here's something for dear Chad and his family to ponder over as they assess their Christian beliefs and values....how many teachers will lose their jobs to cover the costs from this frivolous lawsuit designed to score a point for the religious right?
so I'm curious, when Chad moves on to university and is confronted by professors who challenge his belief system, will he sue all them too? or will he man enough to just drop the class and move on? or is he going to go to a school inside the Christian bubble somewhere?
Posted by: Reformers......HAH! | September 02, 2009 at 04:47 PM
What a bunch of ignorant, self-righteous, uninformed bigots posting to this site!
It's sickening to read your pitiful conclusions about a marvelous family! Chad and his family are exemplary Christians.
What a shame so many of you have been duped and deceived.
Posted by: the mind's a terrible thing to waste | September 03, 2009 at 12:30 AM