Merged David Coppedge is suing the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 'religious discrimination'

[billw]

A Los Angeles judge has tentatively determined that Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge did not improperly fire a longtime employee because he espoused the theory of intelligent design in the workplace, according to the Associated Press.

http://www.pasadenasun.com/news/jpl...ay-in-intelligent-design-suit,0,5440635.story

 

[ben m]

http://www.pasadenasun.com/news/jpl...ay-in-intelligent-design-suit,0,5440635.story

Finally. Man, to think of the amount of government money (court time + JPL lawyers + JPL employees with better things to do) spent defending against this suit ...

As usual, I don't understand the court procedure. The judge "ordered that a final ruling rejecting Coppedge's claim be issued in 30 days" ... ordered who? Himself?

 

[Questioninggeller]

Tentative Ruling

Judge: Employee not let go over intelligent design
November 01, 2012
San Francisco Chronicle

A former computer specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was not dismissed because he advocated his belief in intelligent design while at work, a Superior Court judge has tentatively ruled.

Judge Ernest Hiroshige said Thursday he is leaning in favor of JPL's argument that David Coppedge instead was let go because he was combative and did not keep his skills sharp.

Hiroshige, who presided over the lawsuit's trial in April, ordered a final ruling to that effect be drawn up and distributed within 30 days.

Coppedge's attorney, William Becker, declined to comment until the final ruling is issued. JPL officials also had no immediate comment.
...

Full: San Francisco Chronicle

Judge: NASA’s JPL didn’t dismiss computer specialist over belief in intelligent design
November 1, 2012
Washington Post

A judge has tentatively ruled that a former computer specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was not dismissed because he advocated his belief in intelligent design while at work.
...

Full: Washington Post


According to this about a Tentative Ruling:

What is a Tentative Ruling?

Prior to the hearing of a law and motion matter, the Court may issue a tentative ruling. The tentative ruling will become the order of the Court, and no hearing will be held, unless a party contests the tentative ruling.

From: http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/pages.aspx/tentative-rulings


No comments from Coppedge ( http://crev.info ), Becker or posts from the Discovery Institute ( http://www.evolutionnews.org ) about it yet.

 

[Questioninggeller]

More:

David Coppedge: Intelligent Design Advocacy Not Reason For NASA Worker's Dismissal, Judge Rules
Huffington Post/Associated Press
11/01/12 10:57 PM ET EDT


A former computer specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was not dismissed because he advocated his belief in intelligent design while at work, a Superior Court judge has tentatively ruled.
...
JPL attorney Cameron Fox, however, contended Coppedge was a stubborn and disconnected employee who decided not to heed warnings to get additional training, even when it became clear the Cassini mission would be downsized and computer specialist positions eliminated.

Coppedge often was confrontational and insensitive to customers and colleagues, who had complained about his behavior and his advocacy of intelligent design, Fox said.
...
Coppedge also is a board member for Illustra Media, a company that produces video documentaries examining the scientific evidence for intelligent design. The company produces the videos that Coppedge was handing out to co-workers, Becker said.

Full: Huffington Post/Associated Press

 

[Dancing David]

He was dismiised because he was an uncoopertaive jerk who harrased his coworkers.

 

[ben m]

... and because he was a sysadmin, trained only in outdated software, without a skill set that JPL actually needed?

... because he was a cranky, inflexible, vaguely BOFH-like character that no one liked working with?

... because NASA projects have finite lifetimes and budgets, and the Cassini mission---which launched in 1997, reached Saturn in 2005, completed its official science goals by 2008, and is scheduled to de-orbit in 2017---didn't need the same number of sysadmins in 2011 as it needed in 1997?

 

[Beerina]

One would have to data mine NASA's recent employee history to see if there were any other similar cases, sans ID issue, where firings occured, or didn't.

 

[Questioninggeller]

As usual, I don't understand the court procedure. The judge "ordered that a final ruling rejecting Coppedge's claim be issued in 30 days" ... ordered who? Himself?

The LA Times explains a little and links to the actual order:

Judge tentatively sides with JPL in wrongful-termination suit
LA Times
November 2, 2012


A Los Angeles County judge has tentatively sided with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a high-profile lawsuit filed by a computer specialist who said he lost his job because he promoted the theory of intelligent design at work.

Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Hiroshige said this week he was inclined to agree with JPL attorneys, who argued that David Coppedge was laid off in 2011 because his skill set was outdated and his attitude obstinate. Hiroshige also ordered defense attorneys to draw up a proposed judgment within 30 days of his ruling.
...

Full: LA Times


Judge's order via scan from LA Times link:

The Court having reviewed all exhibits admitted into evidence, heard the oral final arguments of counsel, read and considered the written final arguments and all other legal briefs filed in this matter, comes to the following Tentative Decision:

The Court would enter judgement in favor of the Defendants on all causes of action. ...

... the Court Orders that Defense Counsel prepare a statement of decision (SOD) and proposed judgement consistent with this Tenative Decision to be filed and served ...

http://www.freedomxlaw.com/documents/Tentative-Decision.2.pdf

 

[ben m]

One would have to data mine NASA's recent employee history to see if there were any other similar cases, sans ID issue, where firings occured, or didn't.

Not sure what you're getting at. NASA is a huge organization which must hire and fire thousands of people every year. In this case, there was a mass layoff of ~250 JPL employees, including 50 Cassini employees, including 2 (out of 5, I think) Cassini sysadmins, of whom Coppedge was one.

Coppedge's lawyers made no attempt (as far as I saw) to "mine NASA's recent employee history" to show evidence of any systematic bias. He and his lawyers tried to show individual bias---"my boss personally retaliated against me because of my faith"---rather than "NASA systematically fires Christians", or something, which I'm sure the Discovery Institute would have hammered pretty hard if there were any shred of evidence for it.

The LA Times explains a little and links to the actual order:

Thanks!

 

[Questioninggeller]

These exchanges at uncommondescent.com, where some of Coppedge's supporters don't seem to be aware of complaints about Coppedge and his outdated skills, are worth reposting here:

CLAVDIVS
November 4, 2012 at 11:24 pm

Hi tjguy @ 7

He had great job reviews up until the ID thing burst on the scene.

No, he didn’t.

Mr Coppedge’s notes in his own handwriting from 2004, 2005 and 2006 came out in the trial, showing he had been told throughout that “every office had complaints”, “even my own team members were complaining”, and “people think you’re hard to deal with”.

The official written reviews had warning signs as well:
2004 – “interface to his customers can be improved”.
2006 – “there is still some friction”
2008 – “starting to win over some of the disgruntled, although some are still hard to deal with”
2009 – “needs to make a stronger effort in dealing with some of the managers … by showing respect for and inclusion of others”

So, this doesn’t look like a last minute thing to me.

Cheers

and

CLAVDIVS
November 6, 2012 at 4:11 pm

Hi tjguy @ 13

First of all, no one gets perfect reviews. There is always room for improvement so sure you can pick out this or that in the reviews over the past years, but the overall conclusion of the reviews was very positive.

So the reviews were not unequivocally “great” as you previously claimed, which is all I was pointing out. Plus, Mr Coppedge was verbally advised as early as 2004 – and this was confirmed by his own handwritten notes – that “every office had complaints”, “even my own team members were complaining”, and “people think you’re hard to deal with”.

The point is, Mr Coppedge’s history of customer relations was inferior relative to the other people in his team being considered for layoff, and JPL demonstrated this with contemporaneous documentation.

Notice the timing of the criticism. JPL’s defense involved evolving explanations according to West and finally ended up settling on the employee’s competency. The fact that criticism of his skills as being lower than all other team leaders came out only in a post-trial brief speaks volumes here as to their real motive in my opinion.

This is incorrect. The determination that Mr Coppedge’s skills were relatively inferior came out around October 2010, when the mission’s funding was reduced and 50 jobs had to be shed. This was all documented at the time and Mr Coppedge agreed that this determination was accurate in his sworn testimony at trial.

So it appears JPL had plenty of legitimate reasons to include Mr Coppedge in a general layoff.

Cheers

 

[Questioninggeller]

It's been more than 30 days when the lawyers needed to submit their proposed judgements. But no news on this yet. I wonder if they were given an extension.

 

[billw]

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday confirmed an earlier ruling that found Jet Propulsion Laboratory administrators did not discriminate against a longtime staffer when they laid him off in 2011.

David Coppedge — a former lead systems administrator on the Cassini Mission to Saturn who worked at JPL for 15 years — filed a lawsuit in 2009 against the agency claiming he was demoted, and then eventually fired, because of his Christian beliefs and in retaliation for discussing the theory of intelligent design at the NASA facility in La Cañada Flintridge.

http://www.lacanadaonline.com/news/...pl-in-intelligent-design-case,0,2898922.story

 

[tsig]

http://www.lacanadaonline.com/news/...pl-in-intelligent-design-case,0,2898922.story

Gotta love defense attorneys:

“By failing to address the evidence personally, thoughtfully and carefully, [Hiroshige] left the door wide open,” said Becker. “By overruling our objections without giving a reason, the judge has all but handed us a victory on appeal."



IOW we'll appeal as long as the bankroll holds out.

 

[Questioninggeller]

The Valley Sun update has the JPL statement:

Judge confirms earlier ruling, sides with JPL in 'intelligent design' case
Valley Sun
by Daniel Siegal
Jan 17, 2013


A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday confirmed an earlier ruling that found Jet Propulsion Laboratory administrators did not discriminate against a longtime staffer when they laid him off in 2011.
...
Coppedge had sought $860,000 for lost wages and $500,000 for emotional distress damages.

The final ruling by Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige confirms his tentative ruling issued less than three months ago, which came down against Coppedge on every claim. He also overruled all objections filed by Coppedge’s legal team.
...
The attorneys who represented JPL in the case, James Zapp and Cameron Fox, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, nor could a spokesperson for the agency.

[Updated 2:31 p.m.: JPL issued a statement Wednesday afternoon reiterating its position that Coppedge's claims were without merit.

"We are very pleased with the decision reached by the court," JPL said in its statement. "As we’ve stated from the beginning, the allegations raised by Mr. Coppedge were without merit. After weighing the evidence in this case, the court has agreed."]

In arguing their case in court, JPL attorneys dismissed the faith-based overtones of the claims. They argued Coppedge had a history of work-related complaints against him and that he was laid off for legitimate reasons at a time when the agency was shedding some 200 administrative jobs.

Becker — who declined to comment beyond his written statement — contended that by “rubber-stamping” JPL’s proposed judgment, and not issuing a thorough written ruling of his own, it would work in Coppedge’s favor going forward.

“By failing to address the evidence personally, thoughtfully and carefully, [Hiroshige] left the door wide open,” said Becker. “By overruling our objections without giving a reason, the judge has all but handed us a victory on appeal."

Full: Valley Sun

The court documents are here:
http://ncse.com/creationism/legal/coppedge-v-jpl

 

[dlorde]

The court documents are here:
http://ncse.com/creationism/legal/coppedge-v-jpl

Plaintiff's Objection to Defendant's Objection to Plaintiff's Objections to Defendant's Proposed Statement of Decision...

Good grief!

So, defendant - any objections?

 

[ben m]

IOW we'll appeal as long as the bankroll holds out.

Heck, they could be making a profit on the whole business. Suppose the IDers pay $200K/y to a lawyer to keep this case going; and suppose that their resulting wild-eyed fundraising appeal ("Support Alliance's last-ditch effort to defend an an oppressed Christian martyr from evil NASA atheists and liberal sharia judges") nets them $300K. Tidy profit there.

You don't get to be a pro-creationist legal powerhouse by filing worthwhile pro-creationism lawsuits. If you held yourself to that standard, you'd file nothing at all.

 

[Questioninggeller]

A little more on the judgement:

Judge rules in JPL's favor in wrongful termination lawsuit centered around 'intelligent design'
By Brian Charles, Staff Writer
PasadenaStarNews.com
January 17, 2013


David Coppedge, who sued NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and claimed the agency discriminated against him for his religious views on "intelligent design," has lost his wrongful termination lawsuit, according to court documents released Wednesday.

In a court decision signed by Judge Ernest Hiroshige, the court said Coppedge's claim of discrimination and wrongful termination "fails, and judgment on this claim shall be entered in favor of Caltech."
...
JPL attorneys argued that Coppedge, the one-time head of the Cassini mission to Saturn, had become a combative employee whose skills had faded.

He was demoted in 2009 and laid off in 2011 as part of a JPL downsizing.

Coppedge's layoff came more than two years after
...
During the civil trial, attorneys for JPL painted Coppedge as a difficult employee who pushed his views upon his co- workers. JPL said Coppedge's layoff was in line with agency policy.

The court agreed.

"The evidence shows that Caltech has a detailed layoff policy, incorporating a layoff ranking process, which (Coppedge's supervisor) carried out. The evidence clearly shows that (Coppedge's co- workers) were more qualified than Coppedge regarding the skills needed on the project going forward, such as SCO/ ITL, web servers, and Linux, and that Coppedge had a history of poor customer relationships, particularly in comparison to the other System Administrators," the judgement said.

Full: PasadenaStarNews.com