Expelled Counseling Student’s Suit Revived After Court IDs Potential Religious Animus

The expulsion of a graduate student who wanted to avoid counseling a client concerning a same-sex relationship may have been motivated by religious discrimination, as opposed to the application of an across-the-board university policy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held Jan. 27 (Ward v. Polite, 6th Cir., No. 10-2100).

The Christian student’s claims under the First and 14th amendments should have been allowed to proceed to trial because—at this stage—“a reasonable jury could conclude that [the] professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith,” Judge Jeffrey S. ...