Lawyer in UI Bias Case Objects to Verdict

University of Iowa professor Ben Hunnicutt gives a lecture to his Historical and Philosophical Perspectives of Leisure class Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 on the lawn in front of the Old Capitol building on the UI campus in Iowa City. Hunnicutt said he moved the class outside after his students suggested it because it was such a beautiful day. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

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By Katie Stinson

Story Created: Oct 26, 2012 at 9:21 AM CDT

Story Updated: Oct 26, 2012 at 9:21 AM CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer for a conservative scholar who was passed over for University of Iowa law school jobs is requesting a retrial and has raised criticism about how a judge oversaw the mixed verdict.

Attorney Stephen Fieweger on Thursday asked a federal court to reinstate Teresa Wagner's claim of discrimination under the 1st Amendment and vacate the verdict throwing it out. He says that claim should be retried with the claim that her equal-protection rights were violated, which deadlocked jurors.

Fieweger says Magistrate Judge Thomas Shields accepted the verdict Wednesday on count 1 without allowing him to be present to poll jurors to ensure they were unanimous and hadn't been coerced.

Shields initially declared a mistrial on both claims. He later called jurors back and accepted their verdict on count 1.

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