There’s some good news for California teacher Jim Corbett, who was accused by his former student Chad Farnan of making anti-Christian comments during history class.
The clerk’s office in federal district court in Santa Anna, California has determined that nearly $20,000 in court costs should be borne by high school student Chad Farnan…
The fees are to be paid by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a Christian legal group that represented Farnan pro-bono. The school district and teachers’ union, whose attorneys also represented Corbett, now plan to file a motion to recover over $378,000 in attorneys’ fees.
This case is complicated to figure out. Corbett was found to have violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The school district and Corbett, at separate hearings, were found to be not liable for Corbett’s actions because of his “qualified immunity defense.”
And now, Farnan’s legal team has to pay the court costs.
Corbett’s team is still seeking to recover attorney’s fees ($378,519) and it’s possible that Advocates for Faith & Freedom will have to pay that again. Not surprisingly, they’re appealing.
Corbett actually commented on this site about his situation — he feels that the reported comments he made in class have been distorted and taken out of context.