(AgapePress) - A Philadelphia jury has ruled against a former student of Temple University who sued the school after administrators attempted to commit him to a mental hospital in 1999. Earlier in the day the jury was hung, but ultimately came down on the side of the Philadelphia school.

Michael Marcavage opposed the campus presentation of the controversial play Corpus Christi which portrays Christ as a homosexual. He approached Temple officials about his opposition to the play, but they tried to have him forcibly committed for treatment. Marcavage sued the school, claiming officials violated his constitutional rights.

Steve Crampton

Steve Crampton is chief counsel for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, which represented Marcavage. He claims the judge dealt severe setbacks to Marcavage's case that prevented the jury from hearing both sides of the story.

"They had the story from the defendants [William Bergman and Carl Bittenbender, the vice president and the head of campus security, respectively], but they don't get the rest of the story," Crampton says. "They don't get Michael's version, which includes the doctors who said he was perfectly normal when he arrived at the hospital -- basically indicating that there was no legitimate reason to bring him in in the first place."

Crampton says the judge in the case basically rewrote Pennsylvania state law to protect Temple University. "We basically were prohibited from trying this case on the best evidence that we had," the attorney declares.

"The judge systematically excluded evidence that was favorable to Michael Marcavage, and systematically included evidence that was favorable to Temple University and its officials."

Crampton says he will appeal the jury's ruling.