November 3, 2006

Judge Upholds U. of Alaska's Right to Deny Felon Admission to Social-Work Program

By PETER MONAGHAN

The University of Alaska at Anchorage was within its rights last year when it denied admission to its social-work program to a man who had been jailed for 20 years for killing a convenience-store clerk in a botched robbery, a state-court judge has ruled.

The man, Micheal Purcell, failed to prove that the university had arbitrarily deviated from the School of Social Work's written policy regarding the admission of felony convicts, Judge Sharon L. Gleason, of Alaska Superior Court, said