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Legal Experts: Ward Churchill's Job is Safe

The Rocky Mountain News has extensive coverage of Ward Churchill today, including an article that quotes legal experts, including Churchill's veteran and prominent civil liberties attorney, David Lane, who explain why Churchill's job is not in danger. Unless, of course, Colorado wants to pay some big bucks to Churchill when it loses the lawsuit Churchill would file over such a firing.

I agree, particulary with the point that because the University of Colorado is a publicly funded institution, Churchill's job actually is safer than it would be if he were teaching at a private college like the University of Denver.

Here are excerpts from an interview with Churchill conducted at his home Friday. He is not sorry, and he will fight back.

Here is the text of a memo from C.U. President Elizabeth Hoffman to university faculty yesterday on academic freedom.

Churchill will be speaking at the University of Colorado in Boulder on Tuesday night. Churchill has arranged for personal security.

Jim Lindgren at the Volokh Conspiracy analyzes academic freedom and Churchill in the context of the 1967 Kalven Report which explained why universities should not take a political position on public policy issues.

Other legal experts saying Churchill should not be fired: Law Profs Glenn Reynolds of Instpundit and Eugene Volokh of Volokh Conspiracy (here as well.) And Kevin Heller of the Yin Blog was a student of Churchill's and "enjoyed his classes immensely."

Update: Churchill definitely is a man willing to say "bring it on" to the legal system over a matter of principle. He was one of eight protesters arrested at the Columbus Day march in Denver last October. Recently, he and eight others took the case to trial. David Lane was chief counsel. The jury acquitted all of them.

Interesting footnote on whether Churchill improperly claimed to be an American Indian. The newspaper, Indian Country, which says it is the leading n