Fired Colo. professor loses appeal

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DENVER, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A former Colorado University professor fired for comparing Sept. 11, 2001, victims to a Nazi propagandist lost an appeal Monday to get his job back.

The jury agreed that Ward Churchill, who described himself as the victim of a "witch hunt," had been unjustly fired, but the judge in the case refused to give him his job back and awarded him just $1 in damages.

The Colorado state Supreme Court agreed with school layers that Churchill's firing properly followed guidelines and the Denver District County Court judge was within the law in upholding his dismissal. The lower court judge agreed with defense lawyers that the termination process conducted by the state Board of Regents was "quasi-judicial" and offered Churchill the opportunity to defend himself against the misconduct charges that led to his firing, KMGH-TV, Denver, reported.

The 2007 essay Churchill wrote that led to his firing compared victims of the terrorist attacks to "little Eichmanns" -- a reference to Hitler's propaganda minister, Adolf Eichmann.