DENVER -- Lawyers for the University of Colorado have begun presenting their case against fired professor Ward Churchill, who is suing to get his job back.

Churchill triggered a national uproar with an essay comparing some Sept. 11 victims to a Nazi. He was fired on July 2007 over allegations of plagiarism and other research misconduct.

Churchill filed suit, saying the it was the Sept. 11 essay that cost him his job. Churchill's attorneys rested their case Wednesday.

Natsu Taylor Saito worked in the Ethnic Studies department at CU and started crying when she recounted the stress she and other teachers felt during the investigation into Churchill's work, reported the Denver Post.

Saito said the investigation was "exhausting and frustrating, a constant barrage."

"Everyone we had worked for in the university was backing off," she said. "There was a real sense of abandonment. Research misconduct became a convenient excuse."

Churchill defended his work on the stand Monday and Tuesday. He denies the research misconduct allegations.

The university said the investigation into Churchill's work was fair and his firing was justified.

The trial is in its third week.