Judge allows anthrax lawsuit to continue
From today's Wilmington News-Journal (external Link)
Federal district court rules in favor of a Dover Air Force Base sergeant
BY SEAN O'SULLIVAN / The News Journal
09/20/2005
WILMINGTON -- A whistleblower lawsuit filed by a Dover Air Force Base sergeant has survived a crucial federal court hurdle.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. turned down a request by government and military officials to have the lawsuit filed by Staff Sgt. Jason A. Adkins dismissed.
Adkins, a decorated 14-year veteran who flew on C-5s into Baghdad, sued Air Force officials and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last year, charging he suffered retaliation after speaking out against the military's anthrax vaccination program.
The lawsuit and Farnan's opinion mention a series of articles by The News Journal in October 2004 about the anthrax program. Adkins alleges commanders "were angered and displeased by the media scrutiny" and shortly thereafter, when he complained to a flight surgeon about headaches he thought were linked to the vaccine, he was reprimanded and grounded, ending his career, as an example to others.
The government argued that Adkins had not shown he was retaliated against and that Adkins had not exhausted his administrative remedies inside the military.
Government attorneys also argued Adkins' speech was not about a matter of public concern and the speech was not outweighed by the military's interest "in maintaining the obedience of its enlisted personnel."
Government officials did not return calls for comment Monday.
Adkins' attorney, Thomas S. Neuberger of Wilmington, issued a statement heralding the decision as a victory, saying it shows service members have the same right to free speech as civilians.
"No man is above the law, not even the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Air Force or a four-star general. We now look forward to proving before a civil jury the abuse of power which ended this heroic airman's career and which has endangered the lives of many of our heroes in uniform," Neuberger said.
The lawsuit charges the anthrax program amounted to illegal medical experimentation on Air Force personnel.
Neuberger is representing Adkins in conjunction with the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit conservative civil-liberties organization.
Federal district court rules in favor of a Dover Air Force Base sergeant
BY SEAN O'SULLIVAN / The News Journal
09/20/2005
WILMINGTON -- A whistleblower lawsuit filed by a Dover Air Force Base sergeant has survived a crucial federal court hurdle.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. turned down a request by government and military officials to have the lawsuit filed by Staff Sgt. Jason A. Adkins dismissed.
Adkins, a decorated 14-year veteran who flew on C-5s into Baghdad, sued Air Force officials and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last year, charging he suffered retaliation after speaking out against the military's anthrax vaccination program.
The lawsuit and Farnan's opinion mention a series of articles by The News Journal in October 2004 about the anthrax program. Adkins alleges commanders "were angered and displeased by the media scrutiny" and shortly thereafter, when he complained to a flight surgeon about headaches he thought were linked to the vaccine, he was reprimanded and grounded, ending his career, as an example to others.
The government argued that Adkins had not shown he was retaliated against and that Adkins had not exhausted his administrative remedies inside the military.
Government attorneys also argued Adkins' speech was not about a matter of public concern and the speech was not outweighed by the military's interest "in maintaining the obedience of its enlisted personnel."
Government officials did not return calls for comment Monday.
Adkins' attorney, Thomas S. Neuberger of Wilmington, issued a statement heralding the decision as a victory, saying it shows service members have the same right to free speech as civilians.
"No man is above the law, not even the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Air Force or a four-star general. We now look forward to proving before a civil jury the abuse of power which ended this heroic airman's career and which has endangered the lives of many of our heroes in uniform," Neuberger said.
The lawsuit charges the anthrax program amounted to illegal medical experimentation on Air Force personnel.
Neuberger is representing Adkins in conjunction with the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit conservative civil-liberties organization.
