Iowa Law Hiring Case Concludes Unhappily

One of the cases making the news is one where plaintiff Theresa Wagner sued the University of Iowa law school because she was passed over for a faculty position.  She alleged she failed to get the job because of her conservative views and activities.  Of the 50 faculty members at Iowa, 46 are registered Democrats with only 1 registered Republican.  The School claims she fluffed the interview.

The jury returned a mixed verdict, finding against her on the claim that her First Amendment rights were violated, and deadlocked on her claim that she was denied her 14^th Amendment Equal Protection rights.  Her lawyers are upset that they did not get a chance to poll the jury after the verdict was announced.  More on the outcome of this case is in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  The report indicates that this case was on the messy side in its procedure.  It should be interesting to see how the Court of Appeals treats it.  [MG]