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Accused Roommate in Rutgers Suicide Case Will Go to Trial
The criminal case involving New Jersey's bias intimidation statute arising from the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi has been scheduled for trial early next year.
November 12, 2011 /Education PR News/ -- The criminal case related to the events that preceded the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi has been scheduled for trial early next year. Media outlets have reported that accused defendant Dharun Ravi has rejected a plea deal and will go to trial to defend himself against 15 criminal counts involving the state's bias intimidation statute.
Ravi is accused of deploying a webcam to spy on Clementi, then watching and sharing footage that revealed his sexual intimacy with another man. Clementi's subsequent suicide, which gained national headlines, was quickly followed by New Jersey's passage of an anti-bullying law. The law requires public educational institutions such as Rutgers to ban cyberbullying and provide counseling for alleged bullies and victims alike.
Reports indicate that the rejected plea deal would have limited Ravi's sentence to a maximum of five years, with judicial discretion to reduce that to no time in prison. If convicted at trial on all 15 criminal accounts involving bias intimidation and invasion of privacy, Ravi could face more than a decade behind bars.
Ravi's New Jersey criminal defense lawyer won an important evidentiary ruling when the trial judge agreed that the name of the other man in the video must be disclosed. Another important tactic would be to require prosecutors to disclose personal information about Clementi that could provide insights into his state of mind.
NJ Defense Attorneys Protect Notorious Defendants From Excessive Enforcement of Criminal Statutes
No one will argue that the Tyler Clementi case is based on a sad and tragic event. But alleged criminal conduct must always be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and every element of the crime established by the evidence presented by the state and accepted by the court.
One prominent commentator, Seton Hall Professor of Law Marc Poirier and an expert on hate crimes and LGBT issues, suggested that the case involved prosecutorial overreach. "This seems to me a very harsh use of New Jersey's bias intimidation statute," he told NJ.com. "A bias charge is usually linked to an underlying crime involving violence, like murder, assault or vehicular homicide."
Article provided by Aiello, Harris, Marth, Tunnero, Pastor & Schiffman, P.C.
Visit us at www.aielloharris.com
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