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In this
March 7, 2012 photo, David Coppedge, left, is shown outside Los
Angeles
Superior Court with his attorney, William Becker. Coppedge, a
mission specialist who claims he was demoted - and then let go - by Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory for his workplace comments promoting his views on
intelligent
design, the belief that a higher power must have had a hand in
creation because
life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone.
His lawsuit
alleging improper dismissal against NASA begins Monday,
March 12 in Los
Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A computer specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is going to court over allegations that he was wrongfully terminated because of his belief in intelligent design.
Openings
statements in the lawsuit by David Coppedge were expected Monday afternoon in
Los Angeles Superior Court.
Coppedge,
who worked as a team lead on the Cassini mission exploring Saturn and its many
moons, claims he was discriminated against because he engaged his co-workers in
conversations about intelligent design and handed out DVDs on the idea while at
work.
Intelligent
design is the belief that a higher power must have had a hand in creation
because life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone.
Coppedge
lost his team lead title in 2009 and was let go last year after 15 years on the
mission.
In an
emailed statement, JPL dismissed Coppedge's claims. In court papers, lawyers
for the California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL for NASA, said
Coppedge received a written warning because his co-workers complained of
harassment.
They also
said Coppedge lost his team lead status because of ongoing conflicts with
others.
Caltech
lawyers contend Coppedge was one of two Cassini technicians and among 246 JPL
employees let go last year due to planned budget cuts.
The case
has generated interest among supporters of intelligent design. The Alliance
Defense Fund, a Christian civil rights group, and the Discovery Institute, a
proponent of intelligent design, are both supporting Coppedge's case.
The
National Center for Science Education, which rejects intelligent design as
thinly veiled creationism, is also watching the case and has posted all the
legal filings on its website.
Coppedge's
attorney, William Becker, contends his client was singled out by his bosses
because they perceived his belief in intelligent design to be religious.
Coppedge had a reputation around JPL as an evangelical Christian, and
interactions with co-workers led some to label him as a Christian conservative,
Becker said.
In the
lawsuit, Coppedge says he believes other things also led to his demotion,
including his support for a state ballot measure that sought to define marriage
as limited to heterosexual couples and his request to rename the annual holiday
party a Christmas party.
Coppedge is
seeking attorney's fees and costs, damages for wrongful termination and a
statement from the judge that his rights were violated, said Becker.
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(Subjects: Benevolent Design, Channelling, Holy scriptures, Higher self, (Old) Souls, Universes, Big Bang, Galaxy/Solar system build for life, Astronomy, Life on Earth tried to start 5 times/ 5th time life started, Large Animals/No Humans, Asteroid belt, 7 Sisters / 100.000 year ago Pleiadian Brothers and Sisters seeded Humans on earth, DNA, Humans Ascensiont with PleiadianDNA, Lemuria (Hawaii), 21-12-2012, 26.000 years cycle, 1987 - Harmonic convergence (11:11), Shift of Human Consciousness, Gaia, The Humanization of God, 1991 Russia falls, 1994 started 36 years galactic window (Presession), Mid point on 21-12-2012, Lemuria (Hawaii) center of the Earth time, Love (Mother & Child), Religion, Higher self, Global Unity,..... etc.)
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