The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th District sent Julea Ward’s case back to the district court Friday, Jan. 27.
Ward sought an appeal for her unsuccessful lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University.
The court ruled Ward’s case deserves a trial by jury.
In the court’s written ruling, it said, “Although the university submits it dismissed Ward from the program because her request for a referral violated the ACA code of ethics, a reasonable jury could find otherwise — that the code of ethics contains no such bar and that the university deployed it as a pretext for punishing Ward’s religious views and speech.”
Ward filed the lawsuit after she was expelled from the counseling program for asking to refer a homosexual client to a different counselor.
Ward said the school violated her rights of free speech and free exercise under the 1st and 14th Amendments.
The court’s complete opinion can be found on its website: www.ca6.uscourts.gov.
