The University's long legal odyssey that began with a 1997 assault trial and led to a $1.25 million lawsuit may come to an end this week, as lawyers for suspended University student Richard W. Smith start presenting evidence in his lawsuit against the University today.
Smith's lawsuit names all members of the Board of Visitors, President John T. Casteen III, William W. Harmon, vice president for student affairs, and the seven University Judiciary Committee members who originally tried and expelled him after the November 21, 1997, assault on then-first-year student Alexander "Sandy" Kory.
In the suit, Smith alleges the Committee "is not adequately trained or supervised," University General Counsel Richard Kast said.
The suit also states that Smith was not given proper notice of his Nov. 21, 1998, Committee trial and was unable to defend himself, thereby violating his right to due process.
In the suit, Smith said Harmon had notified him in a letter that the Committee trial had been postponed, but it was held anyway.
Accompanied by three fellow Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity members, Harrison Kerr Tigrett, Bradley Kintz and Wesley McCluney, Smith attacked Kory near Brown College right above the Ruffner footbridge.
Kory had previously encountered the group while walking at the corner of University Avenue and Rugby Road as he was returning to Hancock House from his own fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega.
The men had pulled alongside Kory in a dark four-door sedan and exchanged shouts with him. The car followed him to the chapel before speeding off.
Kory, who had not been alarmed by the incident, continued home, but as he came down the steps by Brown College he found the men waiting for him.
Kory was punched twice in the face and kicked once before he was able to escape and run to the Lawn, where he pounded on doors until someone let him in and called an ambulance to transport him to the hospital.
Kory suffered a broken jaw, required two root canals and had other injuries amounting to nearly $3,000 in medical bills.
The four men turned themselves in to police December, 1997.
May 14, 1998, General District Judge Stephen H. Helvin sentenced Smith to 12 months in jail with all but 10 days suspended, while Tigrett, Kintz and McCluney received a sentence of 30 days with all but eight days suspended.
Smith, Kintz and Tigrett then faced University Judiciary Committee charges.
Because McCluney was a graduating fourth-year student, he did not go through the UJC process.
On Nov. 21, 1998, the UJC expelled the three for violating Standard One of the UJC Standards of Conduct, which forbids assault.
None of the accused attended their UJC trial.
In February, 1999, they appealed the UJC decision directly to the Judicial Review Board - a panel of faculty, administrators and one student - which appointed a three-person panel to hear the retrial.
Soon after, the JRB scrapped the idea and remanded the case back to the UJC.
A new UJC trial date was set for April 17, 1999.
But the night before the trial was set to begin, Vice Chairwoman for Sanctions Caroline Fidyk, who was to preside over the trial, stepped down because of possible bias in the case.
Three student prosecutors also stepped down because they feared getting involved in a potential lawsuit.
The UJC then sent the case to Harmon, who reviews UJC decisions, and he set up a panel to make recommendations to Casteen, who ultimately suspended Smith for two years, Tigrett for one year and Kintz for one semester in May, 1999.
Casteen made his decision without a retrial of the students.
Smith then filed a $1.25 million suit against the University in July, 1999.
Following two summary judgments that removed most of the claims made against the University, the two remaining claims - that the UJC is not properly trained or supervised and that Smith was not properly notified of his UJC trial - will be heard in court today.
A summary judgment calls for a decision to be rendered based on statements and evidence presented before a judge without a trial. It is often used when there is no dispute as to the facts of a case.
The current trial is slated to last four days.
Smith's attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence declined to comment.
Read More
Board of Visitors Finance Committee hears presentation on budget process
By Cecilia Mould | YesterdayThe Committee will review and vote on the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year when the full Board reconvenes for its June meeting.
Police forcefully clear encampment near University Chapel, detain protesters
By Thomas Baxter and Finn Trainer | 3 days agoThe University declared the encampment an unlawful assembly at 2:44 p.m.
Student Council passes appointment bill, approves new CIOs at final meeting of semester
By Arshiya Pant | 4 days agoMendoza Gonzalez also said she will be meeting with Kenyon R. Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, to discuss further strategies for the Student Council Endowment Fund.
