Julea Ward v. Roy Wilbanks, et al, No. 10-2145 (6th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseThe university prohibits graduate students in its counseling program from discriminating based on sexual orientation and teaches students to affirm client values during counseling sessions. Plaintiff frequently stated that her faith (Christianity) prevented her from affirming same-sex relationships and certain heterosexual conduct, such as extra-marital relationships. In the last stages of the program, with a 3.91 GPA, she signed up for a required course in experiential learning, involving counseling real clients. When the university asked plaintiff to counsel a gay client, she asked her supervisor either to refer the client to another or to permit her to begin counseling and make a referral if the session turned to relationship issues. The supervisor referred the client. The university commenced a disciplinary hearing and eventually expelled plaintiff. The district court rejected her suit under the First and Fourteenth Amendments on summary judgment. The Sixth Circuit reversed, reasoning that the school does not have a no-referral policy for practicum students and adheres to an ethics code that permits values-based referrals in general. A reasonable jury could conclude that plaintiff's professors ejected her from the program because of hostility toward her speech and faith, not due to a policy against referrals.
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