Politics & Government

Opening Statements in Intelligent Design Case Slated for Monday

David Coppedge is expected to take the stand Tuesday in his religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Following another round of pre-trial motions Monday morning, opening statements in the religious discrimination and retaliation case of a former Jet Propulsion Laboratory worker are expected to begin later that afternoon. 

David Coppedge claims he was unfairly demoted and terminated from JPL after he promoted intelligent design to his co-workers, whom, in turn, felt harassed by Coppedge, court documents show.

A judge will decide the outcome of the case, not a jury, paintiff's attorney William Becker said Friday. Coppedge plans to take the stand Tuesday morning, Becker said.

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Coppedge has sued Caltech, which operates  for NASA, claiming religious discrimination and retaliation, harassment and wrongful demotion. Officials removed Coppedge from a lead system administrator position on the Cassini mission to Saturn in 2010, and was let go in 2011. Some 200 workers were laid off that same year due to budgetary constraints.

Denying the allegations, in documents filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, JPL officials allege that Coppedge received a written warning because Coppedge allegedly harassed co-workers about his beliefs. According to JPL, Coppedge lost the team lead position on the Cassini Mission to Saturn due to ongoing conflicts with Cassini customers, court documents state.

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Back in 2009, Coppedge said, a co-worker complained that Coppedge harassed her by offering to lend her the intelligent design documentary “Unlocking the Mystery of Life.” Intelligent design is defined by Wikipedia as "the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.''

In 2011 JPL laid off some 200 workers, due to budgetary reasons. Coppedge was let go that same year.


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