The Capistrano Unified School District’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing one of its teachers of violating a student’s constitutional rights last fall was denied on Monday by a federal judge. The lawsuit, filed in December by Mission Viejo resident Chad Farnan, contends that history teacher Dr. James Corbett violated his student’s right to practice religion without government bias by making disparaging remarks on Christianity during class.
District Counsel Dan Spradlin asked the court to dismiss the case on Monday, claiming that Farnan’s legal team did not have sufficient evidence to make their case. Federal Judge James Selna disagreed. “The judge felt that based on the information that he had at the time, the case should proceed,” said Jeff Bristow, executive director for Risk Management and Compliance at CUSD. “He felt he did not have enough information to dismiss the case.”
Farnan’s case against his former teacher spread throughout national media in December when his legal team released recorded lectures. “How do you get the peasants to oppose something that is in their best interest?” asks the voice on the tape. “Religion. You have to have something that is irrational to counter that rational approach…” Farnan’s counsel contends that these opinions violate his constitutional rights, while the district’s legal team counters that the lectures are designed to stimulate critical thinking on religious influences on Western civilization.
The lawsuit will continue, but Bristow said no future trial date has been set.
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