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A Mission Viejo student sued his teacher in December for what he said were violations of his First Amendment rights.
SANTA ANA – A lawsuit filed by a Mission Viejo high school student and his parents against a history teacher they say repeatedly made disparaging and religiously intolerant remarks about Christians during class will go to trial, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Capistrano Valley High School sophomore Chad Farnan sued his former Advanced Placement European history teacher, James Corbett in December, alleging the 35-year educator had fostered hostility toward Christians and promoted “irreligion over religion,” violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Corbett’s attorney, Dan Spradlin, asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds there was not a sufficient legal case; U.S. District Court Judge James Selna did not agree.
“I believe there’s a plausible case,” Selna said in a Santa Ana courtroom. “… What we face at trial and summary judgment is a different matter.”
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and attorney fees, says Corbett typically spent "a large portion of class time propagating his personal views to a captive audience." He railed against Christianity and Christian viewpoints on topics such as birth control, teenage sex, homosexuality and erectile dysfunction, according to the lawsuit.
Corbett, who attended Monday’s hearing, declined to comment, but said in a prepared statement: “I am frustrated that my side of this story has yet to be heard, but there is so much at stake for me and my family that my best course is to follow my lawyer’s advice and wait until this is over before I comment.”
A trial date will be set in about two months, and the case likely will be heard by the end of the year, said Farnan’s attorney, Robert Tyler.
“We’re very optimistic for our case and we’re very happy we have a judge who clearly understands the law,” Tyler said.
Court papers cite statements tape-recorded by Farnan, such as “Conservatives don’t want women to avoid pregnancies – that’s interfering with God’s work” and “When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth.”
The Christian legal group that filed the lawsuit, Murrieta-based Advocates for Faith and Freedom, released additional quotes Monday attributed to Corbett, including "When you pray for divine intervention, you’re hoping that the spaghetti monster will help you get what you want."
The complete audiotapes have not been released for independent review. Corbett’s attorney said all of the statements were taken out of context.
“This is a very committed educator who is trying to stimulate his students into an active discussion and to recognize that they should be prepared to challenge authority, including AP European history professors,” said Spradlin, who was retained by the Capistrano Unified School District.
The lawsuit, which garnered national media attention, has prompted an outpouring of support from Corbett’s current and former students. More than 200 high school students and alumni lined the streets outside Capistrano Valley High School before class on a drizzly December morning, holding up signs of support, chanting and encouraging passersby to honk their horns.
Corbett’s daughter, Quinn, 22, who took two of her father’s AP courses as a Capistrano Valley High student, said in a recent interview that the lawsuit had been hard on her family and that her father was frustrated over the accusation he was forcing his personal views on students.
“The idea that he would ever discourage students from voicing their opinions is laughable,” said Quinn Corbett, a master’s student in Irish literature at Boston College. “Not once in 19 years has he said, ‘You have to think this.’ He will say, ‘I think this.’ Every year, he has several students who have no qualms about giving it back to him.”
Farnan, who is Christian, said he initially began recording Corbett’s lectures in the fall semester as a way to supplement his note-taking. But he grew concerned by the repeated remarks aimed at religion and had his mother, Teresa, review the tapes. Teresa Farnan contacted Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
After the lawsuit was filed Dec. 12, Farnan stopped attending Corbett’s class and began taking it as an independent study course. He dropped the class at the end of the fall semester in January and enrolled in a non-AP history class, his mother said.
Corbett remains on staff at Capistrano Valley High School, although the school district is taking Farnan’s allegations seriously, Spradlin said.
“This has a really chilling impact on teachers through the nation,” Spradlin said. “This is a man who has devoted virtually his entire life to teaching the best and brightest. In his heart of hearts, he hopes he’s still giving the benefit of teaching his students to think critically.”
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