The already twisting legal case involving Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s defense of claims it failed to protect a female student from sexual abuse took another odd turn May 7 in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom. A Tarrant County District Court jury found the seminary’s…
Judge dismisses seminary from Roe lawsuit
A federal judge has permanently dismissed Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from the long-running defamation lawsuit filed by Jane Roe, while leaving the door open for a jury trial against former seminary President Paige Patterson in the summer 2026. This lawsuit,…
Jane Roe case against Patterson and Southwestern will go to trial now
One key portion of Jane Roe’s defamation case against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will go to trial, according to the latest filings in the federal case. In February, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on two questions of…
Texas Supreme Court says Patterson may be held liable for defamation
Paige Patterson may be held liable for defamatory actions taken by others on his behalf, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Feb. 14. That’s bad news for Patterson, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his former chief of staff,…
Special extra episode of ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’
BNG’s new podcast series, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” dropped a new special episode earlier today focused on the case of Jane Roe against Southwestern Seminary and its former president, Paige Patterson. Cohosts Mark Wingfield and Benjamin Cole discuss…
Texas court makes public 10,000 pages of sealed documents in sexual abuse case
More than 10,000 pages of highly confidential and legally protected information from a sexual abuse victim’s case against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Seminary were published publicly online for about three days this weekend. The apparent clerical error occurred as case…
Jane Roe’s case against Patterson and SWBTS stays alive for now with query sent to Texas Supreme Court
What remains of a defamation suit brought by a former student against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Paige Patterson now comes down to two questions sent from the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to the Texas Supreme Court. The…
Judge throws out Jane Roe’s defamation case against Patterson and Southwestern Seminary
A former student’s defamation case against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was dismissed on summary judgment April 4. U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan granted a petition to dismiss the final charges remaining against the seminary and its former…
Part of former student’s case against Patterson and Southwestern dismissed by judge
This headline and story have been updated to reflect the fact that one part of the case was not dismissed. Just six days before a long-awaited trial was to begin on allegations from a former student that Southwestern Baptist Theological…
It’s complicated: The backstory to Norma McCorvey and Roe v. Wade you probably don’t know
Joshua Prager has written what critics are calling the definitive book on Norma McCorvey, her family and the landmark Supreme Court decision she sparked that’s once again at the center of public attention, Roe v. Wade. The Family Roe: An…
Judge delays trial date for Jane Roe’s case against Patterson and Southwestern Seminary
Two-and-a-half years after Jane Roe filed suit in federal court against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the trial date has been delayed yet again. On Sept. 2, Sean Jordan, U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Texas,…