Category Archives: Legal issues

Judge sets Feb. 1 trial for former U of L dean: Robert Felner faces fraud, tax evasion, money laundering charges

Posted on October 27, 2009 by | Comments Off on Judge sets Feb. 1 trial for former U of L dean: Robert Felner faces fraud, tax evasion, money laundering charges

Courier-Journal: Judge sets Feb. 1 trial for former U of L dean
Felner faces fraud, tax evasion,money laundering charges

A trial date has been set for former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner, who was indicted last year on 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income tax evasion.

The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 1, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Calhoun said it will take about three weeks.

Felner’s colleague, Thomas Schroeder of Port Byron, Ill., who is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, will be tried at the same time

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Rejected applicant sues U. of I. over ‘clout list’

Posted on October 26, 2009 by | Comments Off on Rejected applicant sues U. of I. over ‘clout list’

Chicago Tribune: Rejected applicant sues U. of I. over ‘clout list’
Suit seeks class-action status, more than $5 million in damages

A rejected applicant sued the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Tuesday, alleging unfair admissions practices because the school had maintained a “clout list,” accepting students ba

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CU asks court to bill Ward Churchill $52,000 for case fees

Posted on October 15, 2009 by | Comments Off on CU asks court to bill Ward Churchill $52,000 for case fees

The Daily Camera: CU asks court to bill Ward Churchill $52,000 for case fees

The University of Colorado is asking for more than $52,000 from Ward Churchill to recover costs the school incurred fighting a lawsuit filed by the former ethnic studies professor.

The total tab, filed in Denver District Court last week, includes individual expenses ranging from $2 for courthouse parking to $22,095 for “in-trial video and visual exhibits.”

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Scholars’ Right to Keep Unpublished Work Private Is at Issue in Lawsuit

Posted on October 13, 2009 by | Comments Off on Scholars’ Right to Keep Unpublished Work Private Is at Issue in Lawsuit

The Chronicle: Scholars’ Right to Keep Unpublished Work Private Is at Issue in Lawsuit

In a case with potentially major implications for scholars and publishers, a Stanford University professor who often serves as an expert witness against tobacco companies is fighting an effort by lawyers for the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to obtain the manuscript of his unpublished and unfinished book on that industry.

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Posted in Academic freedom, Legal issues

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Canada’s top court refuses to hear B.C. unions’ appeals about one-day strikes

Posted on September 8, 2009 by | Comments Off on Canada’s top court refuses to hear B.C. unions’ appeals about one-day strikes

Canadian Press: Canada’s top court refuses to hear B.C. unions’ appeals about one-day strikes

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Two prominent British Columbia unions have lost their bid to have the Supreme Court of Canada decide whether a pair of one-day walkouts were Charter-protected political protests or illegal strikes.

The teachers’ and health-workers’ unions staged separate walkouts in 2002 and 2003 to protest a provincial law that stripped their collective agreements – walkouts the province’s Labour Relations Board ruled were illegal.

The B.C. Teachers’ Union and the Hospital Employees Union had challenged the board’s definition of a strike, but the top court’s decision not to hear the case upholds a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that the walkouts were strikes even if they lasted for just a day.

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Posted in Legal issues, Strikes & Labor Disputes, Unions

Ariz. warrant cites Md. college president

Posted on September 7, 2009 by | Comments Off on Ariz. warrant cites Md. college president

Washington Times: Ariz. warrant cites Md. college president
Montgomery board mulls Johnson’s fate

Maricopa County sheriff’s detectives want to talk with embattled Montgomery College President Brian K. Johnson about an outstanding warrant that would land him in jail if he returned to Arizona.

Capt. Larry Farnsworth said the department is looking at Mr. Johnson, who is accused of owing at least $12,000 in child support in Maricopa County, Ariz., and confirmed the warrant is still active in that state.

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Posted in Administration, Legal issues

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Judge dismisses suit to force Tulane University to reopen Newcomb College

Posted on September 7, 2009 by | Comments Off on Judge dismisses suit to force Tulane University to reopen Newcomb College

Times-Picayune: Judge dismisses suit to force Tulane University to reopen Newcomb College

A suit seeking to compel Tulane University to resurrect Newcomb College was dismissed today by Civil District Judge Rosemary Ledet, who denied the plaintiffs’ claim that Tulane was obligated to keep the college open.

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Posted in Legal issues

Jury awards whistle-blower student $450,000

Posted on August 28, 2009 by | Comments Off on Jury awards whistle-blower student $450,000

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Jury awards whistle-blower student $450,000

When she was thrown out of nursing school just 13 weeks before graduating, Sara Castle was humiliated.

Still, she knew she and her classmates weren’t getting the clinical training they needed because an instructor repeatedly dismissed students early — a practice Castle exposed, and the teacher was fired.

But Castle, too, was a casualty as Appalachian Technical College expelled her for, she asserts, blowing the whistle.

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NIGERIA: Supreme court reinstates sacked academics

Posted on August 3, 2009 by | Comments Off on NIGERIA: Supreme court reinstates sacked academics

World University News: NIGERIA: Supreme court reinstates sacked academics

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled the dismissal of five lecturers of the Federal University of Ilorin was invalid. The court will decide next month on a similar case affecting a further 44 academics who were also sacked eight years ago for taking part in a national strike organised by the Academic Staff Union. The verdict was hailed by lawyers and civil society organisations as a triumph of the rule of law and due process.

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Posted in Faculty, Legal issues, Unions

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Ontario: Man wanted in France teaching at Carleton

Posted on July 28, 2009 by | Comments Off on Ontario: Man wanted in France teaching at Carleton

Canadian Press: Man wanted in France teaching at Carleton

Hassan Diab, who denies involvement in a fatal Paris synagogue bombing, returns to job while awaiting extradition hearing

An Ottawa university professor accused of playing a role in a deadly Paris bombing nearly three decades ago and currently awaiting an extradition hearing is back teaching at Carleton University.

Hassan Diab, 55, is teaching a part-time introduction to sociology summer course every Tuesday and Thursday for a few weeks, according to the university.

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Churchill appeal says judge erred

Posted on July 25, 2009 by | Comments Off on Churchill appeal says judge erred

Denver Post: Churchill appeal says judge erred
An accompanying affidavit states the jury wanted CU to rehire the ex-professor.

Ward Churchill continues fighting to get his job back in a new legal motion that says a Denver District Court judge erred when he ruled against reinstating the fired University of Colorado professor.

A juror who sat through Churchill’s civil case against the university submitted an affidavit to Chief Judge Larry Naves on Tuesday that said the jury wanted him to reinstate Churchill.

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Charges Against Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Be Dropped

Posted on July 21, 2009 by | Comments Off on Charges Against Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Be Dropped

The Chronicle News Blog: Charges Against Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Be Dropped

Authorities in Cambridge, Mass., announced today that prosecutors there would not pursue disorderly-conduct charges brought against the prominent black-studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week after he exchanged words with police officers investigating a falsely reported burglary at his home.

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Posted in Faculty, Legal issues

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Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home

Posted on July 20, 2009 by | Comments Off on Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home

Boston Globe: Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

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Muslim Scholar Excluded from U.S. Wins a Victory in Federal Appeals Court

Posted on July 20, 2009 by | Comments Off on Muslim Scholar Excluded from U.S. Wins a Victory in Federal Appeals Court

The Chronicle News Blog: Muslim Scholar Excluded from U.S. Wins a Victory in Federal Appeals Court

A federal appeals court ruled today that the U.S. government might have acted improperly in denying a visa to the the prominent European Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan.

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Posted in Legal issues

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Colorado Judge Mugs Churchill

Posted on July 11, 2009 by | Comments Off on Colorado Judge Mugs Churchill

howtheuniversityworks: Colorado Judge Mugs Churchill

In my last column, I pointed out that the nationalist and “cultural capital” function of literature classes are in decline. With their tenure lines evaporating, many literature faculty are grasping at the claim that they teach “reading” and “thinking.”

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Fund Raiser Says Binghamton Used Her as Sexual ‘Plaything’

Posted on July 11, 2009 by | 1 comment

AP: Woman sues, says NY school used her as ‘plaything’

NEW YORK (AP) — A fundraiser at an upstate university has sued two senior athletic department officials, accusing them of using her as a “plaything” and trying to make her ply big donors with her sexuality.

The plaintiff, Elizabeth Williams, is represented by the lawyer who won a highly publicized sexual harassment case against former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas two years ago.

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Head of Aid Group Charged

Posted on July 9, 2009 by | Comments Off on Head of Aid Group Charged

Inside Higher Ed: Head of Aid Group Charged

Philip Day charged with felonies related to previous job as chancellor of City College of San Francisco, where he is accused of diverting funds to political activities.

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CU billing Churchill for out-of-pocket legal expenses

Posted on July 9, 2009 by | Comments Off on CU billing Churchill for out-of-pocket legal expenses

Denver Post: CU billing Churchill for out-of-pocket legal expenses

The University of Colorado will bill Ward Churchill for more than $10,000 in out-of-pocket costs the school incurred while defending against his wrongful termination suit, the university’s lawyer said today.

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Hawaii court blocks state furlough plan

Posted on July 8, 2009 by | Comments Off on Hawaii court blocks state furlough plan

Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii court blocks state furlough plan
Judge says governor’s order is subject to collective bargaining

Throwing Gov. Linda Lingle’s plans to close the state’s budget deficit into doubt, a Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that the governor does not have the authority to unilaterally order furloughs for state workers.

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No job, no money for Churchill

Posted on July 8, 2009 by | Comments Off on No job, no money for Churchill

Denver Post: No job, no money for Churchill

A judge has ruled that the University of Colorado doesn’t have to give controversial former professor Ward Churchill his job back, even though a jury found he was improperly fired.

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