( CNN ) -- There 's no sign hanging on the front door of the University of Iowa law school that reads `` Republicans Need Not Apply . '' But Teresa Wagner got the message . Wagner , an Iowa law school alum who had worked for the Family Research Council and the National Right to Life Committee , worked part-time at the law school 's writing center . Twice , she applied for full-time positions . Twice , despite positive reviews and being the most qualified applicant , she was rejected . So she sued . In a federal case heard this week , Wagner claimed that the state school violated her First Amendment rights by rejecting her because she 's a Republican . Her claim reads : `` The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees individuals the right to associate and express themselves on matters of public concern without fear of reprisal from their government . `` This guarantee prohibits the government , when acting as employer , from firing , refusing to promote and/or refusing to hire citizens because of their political views or affiliations . '' The prospect of ideological discrimination in higher education should n't come as a surprise . A 2005 study showed that 72 % of college professors identified as liberals . Only 15 % described themselves as conservative . Former Harvard President Larry Summers , who served as director of President Obama 's National Economic Council , has compared the paucity of conservative professors to the early days of racial integration in baseball . Sure , there are conservative professors , just like there were black baseball players in the 1950s . `` But it appeared ( then ) that there were not any African-American .250 hitters , '' Summers has said . `` The only ( black ) players who played were stars . '' There is a similar lack of conservative professors who are n't `` stars . '' This distortion has left Summers wondering whether there is a bias against conservatives in higher education . Certainly , some of the stats are due to self-selection , with more liberals choosing to go into academia . But that was n't the case with Wagner . And if she was rejected because of her political views , taxpayers in America are funding not only an ideological lemming herd but a mob that casts out anyone who questions the groupthink . Still , is it unconstitutional ? The Supreme Court has stated clearly that the First Amendment prohibits a state from basing hiring decisions on political beliefs or associations . This rule , though , is not absolute . Imagine if Obama were to be prohibited from rejecting Grover Norquist for a post in his administration for ideological reasons . So the court has recognized limited exceptions for political appointees . However , the court has not extended a discrimination exception to academia . In fact , the court has said that academic freedom is of special concern to the First Amendment . And the test set by numerous appellate courts for ferreting out political discrimination is whether someone 's political affiliation was a substantial or motivating factor behind the adverse employment action . How would someone like Wagner meet that test and prove that she was discriminated against because of her ideas on abortion or gay marriage ? The university claims that she lost the jobs because she performed poorly in her interview . Wagner 's evidence includes e-mails from the law school 's associate dean , warning her to hide a job offer from Ave Maria School of Law , which is perceived to be conservative . During the faculty meeting to vote on whether Wagner should be hired , it was mentioned that she holds conservative beliefs . And after her rejection , the same associate dean sent an e-mail to the dean , asking whether Wagner 's political beliefs had been considered in the vote . Wagner points out that of 50 faculty members at Iowa School of Law , only one is a registered Republican , and 46 are Democrats . One of those faculty members , Mark Osiel , testified this week that he had worked with Wagner , that she was a `` superlative writer '' and that the university 's liberal leaning `` corrupts everything it touches . '' Meanwhile , the two people hired at the school 's writing center instead of Wagner were less qualified and less experienced and had received lower student evaluation scores . Osiel said the school 's policies are `` unconstitutional and morally indefensible . '' It 's no pretty solution to have courts interfering in the hiring decisions of universities . And as Summers has said , it would be `` a real horror '' if , to avoid discrimination claims , Harvard 's astronomy department were forced to hire an astrologer . But that example , like the need for agreement among policymakers , speaks to the merits of the candidate . What do Wagner 's views on abortion have to do with her ability to teach legal writing ? For that matter , does liberalism have exclusive claim to righteousness so that competing views can be discriminated against and discarded as unmeritorious ? If Wagner was discriminated against because of her political views , the law school 's rejection of her was most likely unconstitutional . More important , though , it was ignorant . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Will Cain .
Court heard case of woman who says she was rejected for job for being conservative . Cain says evidence showed her qualifications were superior to those of others . She says 50 of the one faculty members are Republican ; one is Republican . Will Cain says that rejecting her for ideological reasons is unconstitutional and ignorant .