Jury may be quizzed on religious bias

When a jury is seated Monday in a sex and religious discrimination suit by a former English teacher against the Sevier School District, potential jurors may be asked about their religious beliefs and prejudices.

A federal judge this week concluded that jurors may have to be asked their religion and if they have any prejudices regarding members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or if they are willing to give credence to other religious beliefs if they are LDS.

In a state in which opinions on issues are typically divided along religious lines, finding a jury that is not totally biased for or against members of the LDS faith may be a challenge, said Erik Strindberg, attorney for Erin Jensen.

It is Jensen who claims her contract as an English and speech teacher at South Sevier High School was not renewed and she was subsequently terminated because she is not of the LDS faith and also because she is a woman.

Jensen worked as a teacher for three years and, according to her suit, she consistently received high marks for her performance and was named teacher of the year. She founded the school's debate team and oversaw the publication of the school yearbook.

However, Jensen alleges that the district's five school board members and superintendent Brent Thorne, all who are LDS, terminated her employment without offering a reason and refused to accept her application for other positions in the district. In her suit, Jensen states that she was only one of two non-Mormon teachers on the staff, not counting special education, and she and the other non-LDS teacher were in adjacent classrooms at the end of the hallway which was referred to as "Hell's Corner." Jensen also alleges the school board had a preference toward filling positions with male candidates over female candidates and that her position was filled with a male who she claims was underqualified. School district officials deny that allegation.

In what is expected to be a five-day trial, Strindberg said he is prepared to call former female staff members who will testify to sexist remarks and treatment of women as faculty meetings at the school. "If you look at the long-term trend, the school was not a place where women were welcome," Strindberg said.

As for religious bias, Strindberg says remarks were made about Jensen during an executive session of the Sevier School Board in which Jensen was referred to as a person who practices "witchcraft," prefers Halloween as her favorite holiday and paints her windows black, according to meeting minutes. Strindberg also points out that after the suit was filed, the school district amended the same minutes and deleted those comments, adding he plans to show to the jury both versions as a "cover-up."