A Manhattan judge is coming under fire for trying to let his alma mater, New York University, hide its involvement in an embarrassing $20 million lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought by a former female student who was brutally sexually assaulted in a dormitory bathroom last May. It accuses NYU of systemic security lapses.
In an unusual decision made public yesterday, the judge, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Louis York, granted NYU’s request to be listed as “anonymous” in the lawsuit paperwork.
York – who received a master’s from NYU’s School of Law – cited NYU’s interest in “preserving its reputation” and avoiding a “trial by newspaper.”
His decision to let NYU hide from the spotlight in the touchy case angered noted First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams.
“I find it deeply troubling, and unsupported by the law,” Abrams said, noting that the identities of the parties in lawsuits are only shielded in rare and extreme cases – such as when the parties are juveniles or victims of sex crimes. “It certainly is unusual for a judge to allow a defendant to go unnamed on such a flimsy basis.”
There had been to date virtually no mainstream media interest in the case – and certainly nothing approaching “trial by newspaper.”
Interest in the case was only piqued yesterday, at word of York’s attempt to keep his old school out of the limelight.