South Bend, Ind., Jul 17, 2010 / 07:51 am
In the ongoing court hearings for the protesters arrested during demonstrations against President Obama’s appearance at the University of Notre Dame, a deposition of a university official will further investigate claims of selective treatment of protesters.
In a pre-trial hearing Judge Michael Scopelitis of St. Joseph County Criminal Court ruled that attorneys with the Thomas More Society may take a deposition from the former director of residential life at the university. The official’s duties included the direct supervision of the campus police and the campus’ protest policies.
The deposition is intended to reveal whether homosexual activists and anti-military protesters were treated more leniently than the pro-life protesters known as the “ND 88.” The protesters’ lawyers have argued that there was selective enforcement of the trespass law, saying this “viewpoint discrimination” violated the defendants’ constitutional rights, the Thomas More Society reports in a press release.
Notre Dame’s campus security chief was deposed last month to discuss the arrests.