Trial Begins In NASA Employee's Claim of Demotion Because of His Views On Intelligent Design

In a Los Angeles trial court yesterday, opening statements began in the high-profile lawsuit filed by former Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) employee David Coppedge.  JPL operates under contract with NASA. Coppedge, a computer systems administrator, claims he was harassed and demoted for allegedly pressing his opinions favoring intelligent design and opposing gay marriage on co-workers and sharing with them DVDs promoting intelligent design. He says that subsequently he was fired for filing a religious discrimination lawsuit. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, JPL officials say that Coppedge's demotion did not affect his pay or benefits, and that his firing was part of a staff reduction. (See prior related posting.)