Attorney wants gay choir director dismissal hearing stopped

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid22636.asp

The attorney for a gay University of North Dakota choir director who is being fired wants a judge to stop an ongoing appeal hearing and start the process over.

Henry Howe's petition in district court argues that the hearing for assistant music professor Anthony Reeves is unfair and in violation of state Board of Higher Education policies. Howe said a committee of tenured faculty members who will make a recommendation to UND President Charles Kupchella are not trained in law and need a hearing officer to advise them. "I think we have to start over," Howe said. "The process has been so tainted at this point and so damaged, that we would literally have to recall every witness."

Howe said the committee relies too much on university lawyer Julie Evans for advice, creating a conflict of interest.