Jurors reject law prof's claim of anti-conservative bias in hiring
A federal jury in Iowa has rejected a conservative law professor’s claim that the University of Iowa law school rejected her for a promotion because of her political views and associations.
Jurors in Danvenport ruled against Teresa Manning on Monday after a six-day trial, report the Associated Press, Radio Iowa and the Power Line blog.
Manning told reporters she found the verdict “incomprehensible given the evidence we presented. I don’t know what else to say,” according to the AP account. It was the second trial of the case; a federal appeals court had ordered a new trial because of procedural errors, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reported in a preview of the case.
Manning, whose previous name was Teresa Wagner, was a part-time teacher in the law school’s writing center when she was passed over for a job as a full-time writing instructor. Manning previously worked for the Family Research Council and the National Right to Life Committee, and she contended she didn’t get the job because of that background.
Manning is writing a book about her experience that is tentatively titled, Academic Injustices: One woman’s fight against bias in higher education and the law.
