Law School Accused of Viewpoint Discrimination

For anyone who hasn’t heard about it, here’s the link. The highlights…

The federal lawsuit alleges that Wagner, a Republican, was denied a full-time writing position in 2006 because of her conservative background and views on abortion and euthanasia.

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The Des Moines Register reviewed the voting registrations of U of I College of Law faculty this morning and found that Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 20-to-1. Among the 50 regular faculty are 38 registered Democrats; eight independents; two Republicans and two who are not registered, according to 2007 state voting records. The breakdown did not include adjunct or visiting professors.

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The lawsuit alleges that Jon Carlson, a law professor who had just become an associate dean, advised Wagner to conceal her ties to the conservative Ave Marie School of Law.

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Carlson later told Wagner that U of I law professor Randy Bezanson had spoken out against her appointment, the lawsuit alleges.

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Bezanson, who served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun — author of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion — said Wagner’s political views had nothing to do with the decision.

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A Call for Leadership

Our Country is in a dire time. Economic forecasts are not promising, the job market is tightening, the educational system is failing and falling behind, the middle class is shrinking, retirement pensions and social security are endangered, and our fellow Americans are giving their lives daily at the hands of a long and costly war. Some might say that the United States itself has turned into a Sub-Prime investment.

Of course we are all looking to place the blame. Some say Wall Street and greed are at fault, others blame the political process and the President. Maybe these and other factors are a part of our current predicament, but no one factor is bigger and more prevalent than the failure of Leadership this country has seen over the past two decades.

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