No wrongful-dismissal verdict for creationist postdoc

From The Scientist (free subscription may be required) comes this report of the outcome of Nathaniel Abraham's lawsuit against the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Abraham claimed that he was fired from his postdoc position because he told his supervisor, Mark Hahn, that he believes in the literal truth of the Bible and considers evolution to be a theory, not a fact. Abraham, who had been working in evolutionary biology, sued and asked for $500,000 in damages for violation of his civil rights. (There's an NPR report on the lawsuit here.)

Over at the Panda's Thumb, blogger Timothy Sandefur explains that the case was thrown out on a pair of technicalities: Abraham failed to file his complaint within the required time period of a notice from the EEOC, and he couldn't personally sue Hahn under applicable law. It could well be that this will be appealed--and that Abraham will be the new poster child for Ben Stein's creationist campaign. Stay tuned.