Brenda Middleton has been a professor teaching World Literature at Mercer University for six years. She began teaching at Mercer in August 2016. The first three contracts she signed were all one-year teaching contracts. In 2019, she signed a three-year agreement, which would be automatically renewed for two, three-year terms, subject to "satisfactory performance reviews." Her employment at Mercer was subject to the policies set forth in the Mercer Faculty Handbook, which termination as a consequence of "failure to maintained established teaching standards and unsatisfactory evaluations of performance." At the time she accepted her teaching appointment, she became a Service Employee International Union Local 482 member, and her contract with the University was covered by a collective bargaining agreement for graduate and undergraduate faculty. In each of her performance reviews, Middleton earned the highest ratings from her students and her immediate supervisor, Allison Baker, the chair of the History Department.

Ms. Middleton is a highly accomplished and credentialed educator. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in World History and Literature from Spelman College in Atlanta, a Masters Degree in International Studies and a Ph.D. in World Literature from Duke University. She has held multiple teaching fellowships, including Oxford University and Harvard College. Each summer for the past four years, she has been the scholar-in-residence for an international literature conference hosted by the University of Cairo in Egypt.

In late 2022, when her first three-year contract was expiring, Middleton was asked by Allison Baker, the chair of the History Department, if she was interested in teaching a course called "Literature and Religion." This course was an addition to the courses she ordinarily taught, but, as she was interested in the subject, she agreed. Mercer listed the class as a course offering for the 2023 spring and summer semesters.

In her course syllabus, Professor Middleton explained to her students that the subject matter of the course would often require studying and learning passages of religious text from major and minor religions. In addition, supplemental information may contain pictorial or other similar representations of religious figures as part of literature. Moreover, before each class session, Professor Middleton would repeat the academic and teaching goals served by the passages and the pictorial representation of religious figures. Although a devout Catholic, Middleton consistently maintained a posture of respect for belief in all its forms.

On February 16 during a class session, Adibah Zarwa, a Muslim student, became offended by the discussion of the Islamic portrayal in Dante'sInferno. Zarwa was specifically bothered by the book's appropriation of the celestial ascent of the Prophet Muhammad as a model for Dante's divine pilgrimage. Zarwa stayed after class to express her concerns and being offended by the session, after which Professor Middleton apologized, but repeated what was emphasized in the syllabus. That same day, Middleton reported the incident to the department chair in an email, who responded by saying, "I'm sorry that happened and it sounds like you did everything right. I believe in academic freedom, so you have my support. Thanks for the heads up."

Two days later, the department chair notified Middleton that the student had filed a complaint with the Dean of the College. Later, the Dean told Middleton it was not a good idea for her to have had such a graphic discussion about the Prophet Muhammad and that there had been a significant outcry within the Muslim Student Association as well as by Muslim faculty and staff, who were threatening to resign, and asked her to apologize to the students. Middleton apologized to her students at the next class and asked if anyone wanted to discuss the matter further.

During this time, Everett David, Ph.D., the Associate Vice President of Inclusive Excellence sent the following email to all Mercer employees and students:

Several weeks ago, Mercer administration was made aware of an incident that occurred in a particular class. Certain actions were taken in that class by the professor that were undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful, and Islamophobic. While the intent behind those actions may not have been to cause harm, it came at the expense of Mercer's Muslim community members. While much work has been done to address the issue in question since it occurred, the act itself was unacceptable. I want to make it clear: isolated incidents such as we have seen define neither Mercer nor its ethos. They clearly do not meet community standards or expectations for behavior. We will utilize all means at our disposal, up to and including the conduct process, to ensure the emotional health, security and well-being of all members of our community.

Despite the apology, on August 14, 2023, Middleton received from Baker an email notifying her that the classes she was expecting to teach in the fall had been cancelled and that her contract would not be renewed. In the email, Ms. Baker wrote:

We have deeply appreciated the breadth of knowledge you have brought to Mercer but as a department we need to make a semester change and will no longer offer the courses you teach as we had previously discussed.

After the termination of her employment, the online student newspaper,The Den, published an editorial titled, "Incident of Hate and Discrimination." The article did not mention Professor Middleton by name, but it repeated the assertion from Dr. David's email and identified the course title. Multiple officials at Mercer were quoted in the article. The Dean of Students called her conduct an "act of intolerance." The Assistant Director of Strategic Relations said she did "something that in a million years he never expected would happen at Mercer." Dr. David said that because of the incident, it was decided that it was "best that this faculty member no longer be a part of the Mercer community."

Professor Middleton has begun the legal process to redress the wrongs she feels have been committed by Mercer University against her. Particularly, she believes she has been treated unfairly because she is not a Muslim and does not conform to a belief that certain Muslims share. During this process, one of her co-workers, Walter Patrick was informed he would no longer be the Director of Social Justice Programs after he sent an affidavit of support for Professor Middleton responding to a request for information by an investigation agency. He would, however, continue his employment as a visiting professor.

1. Based on these facts, describe what claims, or causes of action, if any, Professor Middleton would have against the University.Hint: There are four possible causes of action.
2. Describe the various laws that govern the causes of action you identified in the previous question.
3. Does any aspect of Professor Middleton's claim involve an administrative aspect? If so, describe the process.
4. What court would have proper jurisdiction over this case and why?
5. Describe a likely procedural history for this case.
6. For the first cause of action, use the appropriate law(s) to explain how a court would decide the outcome of the matter.
7. For the second cause of action, use the appropriate law(s) to explain how a court would decide the outcome of the matter.
8. For the third cause of action, use the appropriate law(s) and explain how a court would decide the outcome of the matter.
9. What cause of action, if any, would Walter Patrick have against the University? Describe the likely outcome of his claim.
10. For the fourth cause of action, use the appropriate law(s) and explain how the court should decide the outcome of the matter.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Answer Based on the facts provided Professor Middleton may have the following four possible causes of action against Mercer University 1 Breach of Contract 2 Violation of First Amendment Rights Free E... View the full answer