The former Yale student who was acquitted of rape in 2018 but later expelled from the Ivy League institution can sue his accuser for defamation over statements he made during a school hearing, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled this summer.
Saifullah Khan, 30, has had a $110 million defamation lawsuit pending against the Ivy League institution since 2019. Khan has been fighting to get her accuser, a fellow student, to join the lawsuit during a university hearing of 2018 which ultimately resulted in his expulsion.
Connecticut’s highest court granted Khan’s request in June. The court ruled that the accuser should not receive “qualified immunity” for her testimony at her school that Khan raped her after a Halloween party in 2015.
Qualified immunity protects people from being sued for statements they make in court cases or “quasi-judicial” cases.
But the top court said the university hearing was not a substitute court proceeding as Khan was not given the opportunity to cross-examine the accuser.
“For absolute immunity to apply under Connecticut law,” the June decision says, “fundamental fairness requires meaningful cross-examination in proceedings such as the one at hand.”
Former Yale student Saifullah Khan won a bid to sue his rape accuser for defamation in June. Twitter/@Saif__khan
Khan has been trying to add the accuser to his current $110 million defamation lawsuit against the Ivy League school.BBC
During the hearing, Khan’s team listened to the woman’s testimony from a separate room and never had the opportunity to question her. The court ruling said this left his defense attorney acting like a “potted plant.”
The court also said the Yale hearing could not be considered quasi-judicial because it did not have the woman testify under oath and did not provide Khan’s side with a transcript of the testimony.
Khan, originally from Afghanistan, began attending school on a full scholarship in 2012 and majored in neuroscience.
Khan’s attorney, Norman Pattis, has argued that his client did not get a fair hearing through the university. Riyad Hasan
Khan was expelled from Yale in 2019 following a hearing held by the school. Shutterstock
Her education was completely derailed after rape allegations in which a 21-year-old acquaintance claimed he took advantage of her when she was extremely drunk after an off-campus Halloween costume party.
At trial, Khan’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual.
Khan was suspended from classes amid the allegations and then returned to school after his acquittal in 2018, despite widespread opposition to his return, including a petition with 78,000 signatures.
He was finally expelled from school in 2019.
Khan’s lawyer, Norm Pattis, said: “We are delighted and look forward to the trial.”
Attorneys for the accuser did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn