Minneapolis settles lawsuit over wrongful termination of Christian psychologist
City of Minneapolis severed relationship with psychologist after learning of affiliation with pro-family organization
ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit Campion v. City of Minneapolis in September 2007. The city “suspended” Dr. Michael Campion, a psychologist who performed employment testing for the city, shortly after city officials learned of his affiliation with a conservative Christian organization, the Illinois Family Institute.
“This settlement reinforces that the government shouldn’t penalize Christian contractors for their beliefs,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jim Campbell, who argued the case on behalf of Campion last year in federal district court. “The court had already issued a decision finding that the City of Minneapolis removed Dr. Campion because of his constitutionally protected involvement with a Christian organization and noting that his ‘First Amendment interests appear to be strong.’ The city realized that it would likely lose this case and wisely decided to settle out of court.”
Under the terms of the settlement, approved by the city on Friday, Campion will receive $210,000 in damages. ADF represented Campion free of charge.
After learning that Campion was affiliated with the Illinois Family Institute, the city hired an independent psychological testing company to evaluate him in July 2006. Although the results showed no evidence that his work was flawed or biased, the city disregarded the analysis and terminated its relationship with him.
Campion’s subsequent bid for the city’s psychological testing work was denied in favor of a less-experienced and more expensive contractor, even though the psychological testing company assessed him as performing beyond expectation and as being “clearly an expert in this line of work.”
“Officials for the city of Minneapolis should base their contracting decisions on experience and qualifications, not on their disagreement with pro-family beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum. “Terminating their relationship with Dr. Campion despite his tried and proven track record was simply not justifiable.”
- Pronunciation guide: Campion (Campy-un), Raum (Rom)
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ABOUT Jim Campbell
Jim Campbell serves as chief legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the U.S. Legal Advocacy team. In that role, Campbell oversees all U.S. litigation teams, Allied Legal Affairs, the Church and Ministry Alliance, and advocacy strategy. Prior to joining ADF in March 2023, Campbell was the solicitor general in the office of Nebraska Attorney General Douglas J. Peterson and Michael T. Hilgers. In that role, he represented the state of Nebraska in cases before state and federal courts and oversaw all civil appeals for the state. In February 2023, Campbell argued Biden v. Nebraska before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case in which Nebraska and five other states challenged the Biden administration’s attempt to forgive over $400 billion in federal student loans for over 40 million individuals. Before joining the Nebraska attorney general’s office in January 2020, Campbell worked as senior counsel with ADF. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Akron School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2006. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Campbell is admitted to the state bars of Ohio, Arizona, and Nebraska. He is also admitted to multiple federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.