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Blog and Media Roundup - Sunday, December 17, 2017; News Roundup
Topic Started: Dec 17 2017, 06:27 AM (64 Views)
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http://www.theday.com/statenortheast-news/20171216/judge-rejects-pseudonym-use-in-lawsuit-over-alleged-rape-of-uconn-student

Judge rejects pseudonym use in lawsuit over alleged rape of UConn student

Published December 16. 2017 11:48PM
By DAVE COLLINS

HARTFORD (AP) — A Connecticut judge has issued an unusual opinion rejecting the use of pseudonyms by two college students in a civil court case over an alleged rape, saying secrecy surrounding such cases has only allowed sexual assaultive behavior to "flourish."

Superior Court Judge David Sheridan in Hartford released his ruling Dec. 6. It came in the case of a University of Connecticut student who alleges in a lawsuit that another student sexually assaulted her on campus while she was incapacitated from alcohol and marijuana use and could not consent to sexual activity in September 2015.

Both the accuser and the accused asked Sheridan to allow them to use pseudonyms in the case. The accused male student denies the allegations, and there is no record of a criminal prosecution.

Some judges around the country have allowed the use of pseudonyms in alleged rape cases in civil court, while others have not. The issue typically involves weighing the privacy rights of the people involved in the lawsuits versus society's interest in open courts and how the justice system deals with harmful behavior.

Sheridan wrote that the accuser and the accused appeared only to want to protect themselves from embarrassment and/or economic harm, which are not justification to use pseudonyms. He also warned against the dangers of secrecy in such cases.

"Sexual assault in all its forms ... has caused enormous damage to our society," Sheridan wrote. "The secrecy and lack of candor surrounding this behavior has only allowed it to flourish. The perceived need for a pseudonym to avoid embarrassment associated with being a victim of sexual assault or a defendant accused of sexual assault has only exacerbated the 'stigmatization.'"

Attorneys in the case did not return messages seeking comment.

The Associated Press is not naming the accuser and the accused. The AP generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

A court motion filed by the accuser said her privacy rights outweigh the presumption that court proceedings should be open to the public, "particularly due to the sensitivity of the issues involved in this case, the stigmatization of being the victim of an alleged rape, and the irreparable damage that continuing as a named plaintiff will entail."

The accused student also cited the potential fallout from being named.

"A person who is wrongfully accused of sexual assault faces severely damaging and enduring stigmatization in our community," his lawyer wrote in a court motion.

Jayne Ressler, an associate professor at Brooklyn Law School, said there is a divide among judges around the country about whether to grant anonymity and there is no uniform understanding of privacy rights in such cases.

Ressler believes pseudonyms should be allowed.

"There is so much risk and so much humiliation and potential embarrassment and shaming that comes along with being a plaintiff in a lawsuit," she said. "We desperately need anonymity in these cases to allow plaintiffs to feel free to bring their claims, not feel threatened, not feel stigmatized."

In a case in Los Angeles comparable with the UConn lawsuit, a judge ruled that a woman who accused pro basketball star Derrick Rose and two friends of rape could not remain anonymous during trial because jurors could interpret the judge's permission to use a pseudonym as a kind of affirmation of the allegations. Rose and the two other men were cleared of wrongdoing last year.
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https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan-state-university-president-denies-raise-under-fire-over-ex-doctor

Michigan State University president denies raise, under fire over Larry Nassar
By Associated Press
Posted: 10:58 AM, December 16, 2017

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon declined a $150,000 raise on Friday, as school officials face growing criticism for their handling of an ex-campus doctor who sexually assaulted many young gymnasts.

Simon rejected the raise at a Board of Regents meeting attended by several victims of Larry Nassar. He pleaded guilty last month to molesting girls at his campus office and elsewhere. Simon and the board agreed to put the money in a scholarship fund and create a $10 million fund for mental health services for sexual assault survivors.

President of Michigan State University Lou Anna Simon. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) READ: Michigan State University president's letter about Larry Nassar
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Simon, who has previously rejected raises, also received the board's support.

"We extend our deepest sorrows and sadness for what has happened to each of you," Simon said after victims and supporter spoke. Earlier, she praised the "survivors," and told them that Nassar betrayed their trust and wouldn't be in prison "without your voices and courage."

Still, victims and others in attendance said apologies were inadequate, arguing Simon and other leaders should resign for failing to protect victims for decades. They also called for an independent investigation, with its findings ultimately made public.

"I'm happy that Larry Nassar is now in jail ... but I'm very disappointed by a lack of concern and disrespect shown toward me," said Kaylee Lorincz, 18, who said Nassar sexually assaulted her with his hands when she sought treatment for back pain at 11. "Today's apology is not enough and it comes too late. ... Many of the administrators, coaches and trainers still hold their positions and continue to deny responsibility for his actions."

Simon earned about $860,000 in 2015, according to the latest data released by The Chronicle of Higher Education. She was the 12th-highest paid public university executive in the United States that year.

Lorincz, a freshman at Adrian College, said she was accepted at Michigan State, her "dream" school, but couldn't attend because she wouldn't feel safe there after her ordeal with Nassar. She added that she has received no counseling from the university, or contact from anyone asking how she is doing or to "offer a kind word."

Michigan State officials have denied accusations the school covered up misconduct by school administrators. The university police and the FBI conducted a joint investigation earlier this year to determine if any school employees besides Nassar committed crimes. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette this month urged the school to give him an internal report but the school has said there isn't one.

Jessica Smith, 23, who identified herself at the meeting as another victim of Nassar, said she couldn't understand how the university could complete its own probe "without speaking to the victims." She said his conduct has been reported by victims for 20 years.

Smith said the school has "failed us" and should be "taking responsibility for those who were hurt under your control."

"I find it baffling that at 23 ... I have to say this to a group of adults," said Smith, standing alongside demonstrators holding signs with messages that included "believe survivors" and "break the silence." ''He admitted his guilt. We are no longer accusers - we are victims and survivors of this abuse."

Nassar, who also worked for USA Gymnastics and lost his physician's license in April, admitted his conduct had no legitimate medical purpose and that he did not have the girls' consent. The 125 girls and young women who have filed reports of abuse with campus police will be able to speak at his Jan. 12 sentencing.

The criminal cases against Nassar followed reports last year in The Indianapolis Star about how USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians, mishandled complaints about sexual misconduct involving the doctor and coaches. Women and girls said the stories inspired them to step forward with detailed allegations of abuse.

Many of the accusers have sued Michigan State, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

William Strampel, dean of Michigan State's College of Osteopathic Medicine who has been named in lawsuits, announced Thursday he was taking a leave of absence for medical reasons. University officials say he will no longer be dean but remains a faculty member.
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Quasimodo

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In a case in Los Angeles comparable with the UConn lawsuit, a judge ruled that a woman who accused pro basketball star Derrick Rose and two friends of rape could not remain anonymous during trial because jurors could interpret the judge's permission to use a pseudonym as a kind of affirmation of the allegations.


Agreed.

And they should stop calling accusers "survivors", as that hasn't been determined yet in a court.

And they should grant anonymity to both accuser and accused before trial.





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