Marcavage Verdict Result of Evidence Exclusion, Says Attorney
by Allie Martin
March 17, 2005
(AgapePress) - An attorney for Michael Marcavage says he expects an appeals court to overturn a jury verdict that Temple University did nothing wrong when it tried to have the Christian student committed to a mental hospital several years ago.
Marcavage was a student at Temple in 1999 when the school hosted the controversial play Corpus Christi, a production that portrays Jesus Christ and His disciples as homosexuals. University officials tried to have Marcavage, a junior at the time, involuntarily committed over his opposition to the play. Marcavage sued the school, claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
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Steve Crampton |
On Wednesday (March 16), a jury in Philadelphia ruled against Marcavage. One of his attorneys, Steve Crampton with the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy, claims evidence favorable toward his client was "systematically excluded" by the judge overseeing the trial. The case, he says, highlights a spiritual battle."Michael Marcavage set out to tell the truth to Temple University students and friends about Jesus Christ because [the school] was trying to portray Jesus Christ as a homosexual, as the 'King of Queers,'" the attorney explains. "And so underlying this entire action is this spiritual battle between the truth -- who is Christ -- and those whose father is the father of lies."
Crampton contends that throughout the trial, the judge seemed intent on making rulings favorable to Temple University. As for his client, Crampton says the former Temple student reacted well to the verdict.
"He took it all in stride, at least on the surface," he says. "He's a praying man; he's been praying for this trial all through, and I think the Lord has provided him with strength and the grace to survive. So I think he was doing remarkably well."
Crampton says an appeal is certain. That appeal, he explains, will be based on upon what he saw as the judge's exclusion of evidence showing, among other things, that Marcavage was perfectly normal when admitted to the hospital. As a result, according to Crampton, the jury heard a "completely distorted view of what actually happened."
And the court failed to properly instruct the jury on the law, he says. Consequently, Crampton says the judge "left the jury with little choice but to find as it did" for Temple and its officials.
"We're confident that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals will reverse this decision," the AFA attorney says.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
