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Blog and Media Roundup - Thursday, December 24, 2015; News Roundup
Topic Started: Dec 24 2015, 05:09 AM (79 Views)
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http://www.cotwa.info/2015/12/wrongly-accused-strike-back-with-lawsuit.html


Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Wrongly Accused Strike Back With Lawsuit
Four wrongly accused students have filed a lawsuit against William Paterson University for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and civil rights violations. According to the report, they were falsely accused after a women had consensual sex with them all, then later falsely reported they raped her.

Two of the wrongly accused students' attorney, Michael Epstein stated:

“Without conducting any investigation and based on the accuser’s report alone,” campus police arrested the men within the next few days and charged them with numerous offenses, including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit sexual assault and criminal restraint.

Campus police did not interview any other witnesses, did not obtain cell­phone records or surveillance video, and did not conduct a sexual assault examination — known as a rape kit — on the accuser, Epstein said.

“The officers who did the reported investigation were untrained, did not know how to conduct a sexual assault investigation,” Epstein said Tuesday.

Another attorney represents two other students who have filed a defamation case against the President of the University and the Accuser, but has stated that he intends to add the campus police as defendants to the lawsuit.

Victim advocates often say that victims don't report because they want to put the incident behind them. That might be true, although that leaves a rapist out there to rape again. But, the same holds true with victims of false allegations. Many times they just want to put the pieces of their lives back together after they are exonerated. However, in the military and our universities, a false allegation can have extremely negative ramifications on your career and education, respectively.

The only way the wrongly accused can fight back is to hold the false accuser and those who assist the false accuser accountable. In the military, this is difficult because Feres bars Servicemembers from suing the Government for injuries they receive incidental to their service. So, they are left with suing the accuser. But, finding an attorney to take on such a case where the false accuser most likely does not have deep pockets will be difficult because their is no gold at the end of the rainbow if you succeed in getting a verdict.

If they can find an attorney who will take the case, then there still are some pitfalls for Servicemembers who are falsely accused who want to hold their accuser accountable. They are fighting for their lives and their career in a court-martial that might take a year to resolve. Most states have a one-year statute of limitations for defamation actions, so the Servicemember who is exonerated will be barred from filing suit if he waits until after the court-martial. Of course, in the case of a vindictive false allegation, Servicemembers could sue the false accuser for tortious interference with employment, which has a longer statute of limitation.

But, kudos to these four students for fighting back. Their lawsuit will do little to prevent a false allegation because false allegations have been around since the beginning of time, but just maybe in the future, William Paterson University will do a little more than take an accuser at her word and arrest four innocent men.
Posted by barney greenwald at 10:00 AM
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http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/2015/12/23/lsu-needs-settle-chavis-lawsuit-class/77839592/

LSU needs to settle Chavis lawsuit with class
GLENN GUILBEAU COLUMN, Gannett Louisiana 2:06 p.m. CST December 23, 2015

BATON ROUGE — Considering how his November went and in the spirit of Christmas, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva — also known as Ebenezer Scrooge — should let this lawsuit against former defensive coordinator John Chavis — aka Bob Cratchit — go already, or concede somewhat and settle out of court.

Alleva, aka Mr. Duplicitous, is a man who was willing to have LSU and the Tiger Athletic Foundation fundraising organization for athletics — aka booster group — pay a buyout of $10.7 million to fire LSU coach Les Miles, another $2 million to oust his assistants and roughly another $25 million or so over five years to hire Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State. And Alleva can’t live without the $400,000 buyout Chavis may owe LSU for taking the defensive coordinator post at Texas A&M after the 2014 season — a year before Chavis’ contract ended at LSU?

Judge Timothy Kelley urged attorneys for LSU and Chavis to settle what is a somewhat silly, exaggerated suit from both sides last week when he ordered Chavis’ camp to hand over his personal cellular phone records from November 2014 through February 2015. This was the period when Chavis was exiting LSU and entering Texas A&M, and Kelley wants to know if Chavis was recruiting prospects for A&M while getting paid by LSU.

Kelley may not realize that new Georgia coach Kirby Smart will still be working as Alabama’s defensive coordinator through the Crimson Tide’s playoff run. He will be getting paid by Georgia while working on his Bama game plan to beat Michigan State, and he will be getting paid by Alabama while recruiting future Georgia players and coaches. Bo Pelini did the same thing in 2007 when he was preparing LSU’s defense for the national title game while recruiting players and coaches as Nebraska’s new head coach. It happens. Chavis, meanwhile, left LSU only after a second tier bowl, and he’s never been much of a recruiter anyway.

According to Chavis, he did not become a Texas A&M employee until he went on the school’s payroll in February, which would clear him of the buyout. According to LSU, Chavis started working for A&M in January, which would mean he owes the buyout.

Technically, Chavis may have been working for Texas A&M in January, but it was brief and somewhat insignificant. The strongest part of LSU’s case is the fact that Chavis left LSU so fast after the Tigers — particularly Chavis’ defense — lost to Notre Dame, 31-28, in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tennessee. He should have waited and exited more cleanly. He didn’t significantly help Texas A&M’s recruiting in January.

The weakness of LSU’s case is Alleva and his slipping credibility when one looks at how he fired tennis coach Tony Minnis in 2012 and how he tried to fire football coach Les Miles in November. Alleva didn’t want Chavis to stay and had been feuding with him over his contract for more than a year as the 2014 football season ended. Alleva also did not give Chavis a raise from $1.3 million to $1.7 million after that season even though he deserved it, having turned around LSU’s defense into a unit that finished No. 1 in the SEC and for his excellent body of work from 2009-14 in which LSU consistently had one of the nation’s best defenses.

Alleva did not work in good faith to keep Chavis. When Miles tried to have something worked out among all three in November 2014, Miles and Chavis were left waiting at a meeting as Alleva never showed. In the end, Miles — a very successful head coach — did not get to keep the coordinator he wanted, largely because of Alleva. An athletic director is supposed to facilitate his coaches — not sabotage them.

I wouldn’t put it past Alleva to have shown Chavis the door last year to not only save the $300,000 raise Chavis wanted, but to also get the $400,000 buyout should an emotional Chavis hastily exit in an angry huff, which is what happened.

When LSU hired Kevin Steele to replace Chavis, Alleva saved even more money. He hired him for just over $1 million — $700,000 less than what Chavis wanted. And LSU’s defense often played like a bargain basement outfit this season. Steele is a good coordinator. His defense will get better, but it is not a reach to say Chavis would have done better than Steele this season.

It is understandable that Alleva wanted to cut salaries last year. For four years running now, LSU has had the highest paid assistant football coaches in the land, yet with no finishes above third since 2013. But Alleva was barking up the wrong assistant. Chavis had clearly been LSU’s best assistant for years. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was and is the most overpaid coach on LSU’s staff, and there are others who should have their salaries decreased.

LSU president F. King Alexander, the coolest and smartest head during Miles’ November death march, needs to read a paragraph in Chavis’ contract and take it to heart. And this is not the part that LSU admitted to changing last week without Chavis knowing. Those changes were meaningless, likely accidental and may have little to do with the case. It’s this on page five:

“Liquidated damages (the $400,000 buyout) may be waived in the sole discretion of the Chancellor and upon approval by the President, if employee is not in breach of any provision of this agreement and LSU determines that such a waiver would serve the best interests of LSU, considering factors such as the impact the timing of employee’s notice has on the team, employee’s length of service with LSU, employee’s ability and willingness to assist LSU if requested during any transition period and ease of recruiting a replacement for employee.

Chavis kept Miles aware for months that he could be leaving because of his problems with Alleva. Chavis’ defense finished the 2014 season strong. Yes, it blew the bowl, but previous Chavis defenses blew games when he was not about to leave for a job. Cameron’s offenses have also played horribly when he was not about to leave either. After Chavis left, no LSU players criticized his coaching for the bowl, and several were asked. And Chavis was never a chief recruiter for the Tigers anyway. So, the timing of Chavis’ exit did not truly “impact” the team.

Length of service? Chavis was one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation at LSU from 2009 through 2014 and could have left multiple times for more money. He was an excellent employee and stayed committed to LSU despite the offense usually not keeping its end of the bargain. Chavis has also not had the problems with previous employers he has had with Alleva. Few, if any, have questioned Chavis’ credibility. That cannot be said of Alleva, considering his baggage, the way he has treated Miles and the fact that he has been sued by former LSU coaches twice in just over two years now. Before Alleva, there were few lawsuits by former LSU coaches against LSU.

One LSU power broker said LSU has had to spend as much or more money on the Chavis lawsuit than the buyout is worth. Alleva has had issues with employees before his time at LSU as well. This same power broker suggested a reading of “It’s Not About the Truth,” a book about how Alleva handled the Duke lacrosse scandal. The title is a comment attributed to Alleva.

Recruiting a replacement and transition? Chavis recommended Steele to Miles as his replacement. Chavis also assisted Steele in his transition to defensive coordinator by frequently talking to him on the phone about LSU’s defensive personnel. Talk about an “ease” of transition. Chavis and Steele are childhood friends from the same neighborhood in Dillon, South Carolina. They talk once a week.

Steele was not Miles’ first choice. Miles considered and interviewed several other candidates. Miles may have had trouble replacing Chavis because some of the higher end candidates did not want to have to deal with Alleva. Miles may have the same problem now if he tries to hire a new offensive coordinator, which Alleva likely wants him to do. But Alleva, at the same time, probably doesn’t want Miles to pay a lot for a new offensive coordinator. Alleva may want to have Miles damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. That way he can do what he has wanted to do for years now — fire Miles.

Alleva won the Minnis lawsuit as it was thrown out, and he may win the Chavis lawsuit as well. But is that what you want from your athletic director? Someone who angers his coaches so much that they sue. Previous LSU athletic directors regularly fired or let coaches go and were not sued. They did it with class.

Which coach will next sue Alleva? Miles? Should not LSU’s athletic director be trying to help his coaches win instead of trying to sabotage and bean count their efforts before lawyering up?

LSU should “determine that such a waiver (of Chavis’ buyout) would serve the best interests of LSU.”

Considering the number of embarrassing national and local hits that LSU took in November, it would be in LSU’s “best interest” to start treating a high quality former employee like John Chavis with more class than it treated current high quality employee Les Miles.

Settle it with class.
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http://www.northjersey.com/news/wpu-officials-mum-on-lawsuit-filed-by-former-students-over-arrests-in-alleged-rape-1.1479034

WPU officials mum on lawsuit filed by former students over arrests in alleged rape
December 23, 2015, 8:34 PM Last updated: Wednesday, December 23, 2015, 9:59 PM
By PATRICIA ALEX


Officials at William Paterson University declined to respond on Wednesday to claims the school botched a rape investigation on campus last year, while an attorney representing two of the men arrested said the accuser’s sexual history should have been material to the inquiry.

In a lawsuit filed against the college on Tuesday, attorney Michael Epstein referenced that history in some detail – a practice that women’s advocates say has long been used to silence rape victims and, for the most part, is no longer allowed in criminal rape trials.

But Epstein said on Wednesday that campus police should have looked at the accuser’s history and social media posts before charging his clients in the gang rape. A grand jury in Passaic County declined to indict the five men who were arrested and four are suing for damages.

“You have to be careful about blaming the victim but here there was no victim,” said Epstein, whose practice is in Rochelle Park. “Her past activity has to give investigators pause, they need to evaluate and investigate.”

The men said the encounter among the freshmen in a dorm room on Nov. 25, 2014, was consensual. But the accuser never recanted and there had been criticism of the way campus police handled the investigation.

The suit filed by Epstein seeks unspecified damages for his clients, Noah Williams of Camden and Garrett Collick of Paterson. A similar suit, in which the accuser is a defendant, was filed by Attorney Ron Ricci of Woodland Park on behalf of Darius Singleton of Jersey City and Jahmel Latimer of Hoboken. Former defendant Termaine Scott of Vineland has not filed suit in the case.

Epstein said that campus police had done a poor job of investigating the accuser’s claims and that the then-18-year-old girl’s sexual history should have been part of the investigation and was fair game in the lawsuit.

Advocates disagree. “That shouldn’t have any bearing on the case … and it couldn’t be brought up at trial,” said Susan Brownmiller, whose groundbreaking 1975 book on rape, “Against Our Will,” is credited with informing national discussion on the issue. She was referring to rape shield laws that limit or prohibit the use of evidence of past sexual history to undermine a victim's credibility.

“Defense attorneys commonly go after a victim’s sexual history,” said Colby Bruno, senior legal counsel at the Victims Rights Law Center in Boston. “It’s a silencing tool used by defense attorneys and our culture and it’s called ‘slut shaming.’’’

But Epstein said the accuser’s history is material to the relationship she had with his clients and he slammed the university.

“The investigation here was completely lacking,” he said. “William Paterson has failed to acknowledge any of their shortcomings here.”

William Paterson spokesman Stuart Goldstein said, “We don’t comment on legal cases at the university.” He declined to say whether any changes had been made in campus police procedure in the wake of the case.

The lawsuit alleges that Epstein’s clients were falsely arrested, maliciously prosecuted and subjected to civil-rights violations that left them with ruined educational futures and permanently tarnished reputations.

The students, who were arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault and numerous other offenses, were suspended from the school in November 2014. University President Kathleen Waldron issued a statement at the time in which she sympathized with the accuser and said she was “angry and dismayed that this crime was committed on our campus and allegedly by students.”

The men were charged with numerous offenses, including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit sexual assault and criminal restraint.

Epstein said campus police did not interview any other witnesses, did not obtain cellphone records or surveillance video, and did not conduct a sexual assault examination — known as a rape kit — on the accuser.

He said the campus police didn’t act early enough to call in experts from the Passaic County Prosecutors Office, who would have been better equipped to investigate a rape complaint. By contrast, officials from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office were called in right away to handle a rape case at Ramapo College in that same time frame.

Ricci, the attorney representing Singleton and Latimer, said he had filed a similar lawsuit in Superior Court in Jersey City against Waldron and the accuser. He said he would file an amended complaint within the next few weeks to include the campus police officers who were involved in the investigation.

That lawsuit accuses Waldron of defamation and libel and includes allegations of false arrest, false imprisonment and violation of civil rights, Ricci said.

Epstein said in his lawsuit that Collick and Williams — who were both 18 at the time — were extremely scared when they spent nine days at the Passaic County Jail after their arrest, and that they slept in shifts to protect each other. Their families were forced to spend money to post their bails, which were set at $25,000 each, he said.

Despite lack of evidence to pursue the criminal charges, both were expelled from the school for allegedly violating a student code of conduct, Epstein said.

Staff writer Mary Jo Layton contributed to this article.

Email: alex@northjersey.com
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BATON ROUGE — Considering how his November went and in the spirit of Christmas, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva — also known as Ebenezer Scrooge — should let this lawsuit against former defensive coordinator John Chavis — aka Bob Cratchit — go already, or concede somewhat and settle out of court.

Alleva, aka Mr. Duplicitous,



At last, a little bit of journalistic truth...? :)


(MOO)
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