AFA Announces Favorable Court Ruling for Dr. Michael Joyner
Court allows case against the Mayo Clinic to proceed to jury trial
PRINCETON, NJ – The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) today announced that Dr. Michael Joyner’s case against the Mayo Clinic, which is funded and supported by the AFA, has been approved by a judge to move forward to a jury trial in September. The Third Judicial Court of Olmsted County, Minnesota issued a ruling Monday that Joyner’s contract and promissory estoppel claims against the Mayo Clinic based on Mayo’s Anti-Retaliation Policy and Appeals Procedure are strong enough to go to a jury trial.
“Dr. Joyner is pleased the court has recognized the unfair treatment he has endured at the hands of Mayo Clinic leadership, and he looks forward to presenting his case to the jury,” said Kellie J. Miller, Esq. of Allen Harris PLLC, the firm representing Dr. Joyner. “Dr. Joyner is grateful for the many colleagues who have come forward to support him in his efforts to stand up for scientific inquiry and transparency, and to hold the Mayo Clinic accountable for the promises they make to their employees and the public. He looks forward to his opportunity to be a part of positive change at the Mayo Clinic.”
The ruling is the latest development in a case dating back to 2023, when Dr. Joyner alleges that the Mayo Clinic violated its contractual obligations by punishing him over comments he made to the media about sex-specific differences in sports performance and about the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Joyner’s ability to participate in interviews and speak freely to the press about his research are fundamental to his academic freedom as an employee of the Mayo Clinic.
Additional Resources:
- Coverage of Monday’s ruling in the Rochester Post Bulletin
- The AFA’s initial June 2023 letter to the Mayo Clinic in support of Joyner
- CNN coverage of the controversy from June 2023
- The original legal complaint filed by Joyner in November 2023
- A prior favorable court ruling for Joyner from July 2024
The Academic Freedom Alliance is a diverse alliance of college and university faculty members who are dedicated to upholding the principles of academic freedom and professorial free speech. These principles are central to the mission of our institutions of higher education for the pursuit of truth and knowledge. The AFA is committed to defending universal principles of academic freedom and will come to the assistance of professors regardless of their individual views. As always, the AFA is not concerned with the substance or merits of a professor’s ideas but with the principle that universities should be places that tolerate controversial ideas and allow free inquiry and debate, not public opinion or political pressure, to separate error from truth.