The College of Law motioned for a protective order on the investigation into the SUCOLitis blog on Tuesday, but still has not charged the student under investigation. The case will likely remain unresolved until after classes resume in January.

The order would prohibit Len Audaer, the second year law student under investigation for creating satirical blog, and his lawyer from directly or indirectly disclosing the names of students, faculty or staff named on SUCOLitis or involved in the proceedings, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Daily Orange. Gregory Germain, faculty prosecutor for the investigation, motioned for the protective order, which Audaer received on Tuesday, he said.

Audaer denies any association to the blog. Law school professor Steven Wechsler is serving as assistant faculty prosecutor and two students are assistant prosecutors on the case, Germain said.

Audaer and his lawyer, Mark Blum, refused to sign the protective order, which Audaer called a ‘gag order.’ The order will likely go to a university panel to be passed, Audaer said.

Any secrecy surrounding the investigation is to protect those who have complained, Germain said. The complainants were not looking to attract attention or have their names put out there when they filed grievances, Germain said.

‘It’s not to keep a prosecution secret. It’s to keep the identities of the people secret,’ Germain said.

Previous information given by Blum suggested everything about the case was to be confidential. But Germain said he only sought to keep the names of the complainants confidential. He cannot release the number of complainants, he said.

Audaer launched the public website sucolprosecution.info on Wednesday to gain more attention for the case, which has been going on since mid-October. The site includes links to media coverage, as well as links to screenshots of the original SUCOLitis blog posts, available through the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education website.

Audaer said he created the website as a means of rallying support and to present all the information — even what puts him in a negative light — to those wishing to find out more.

‘The website is a way to make sure everything is open and available,’ Audaer said.

Audaer said he knows he is under investigation for harassment and for speech that the law school deemed offensive, but he has not seen the official complaints that claim harassment. Some details of the case, such as how many students filed complaints, are also unclear, he said. He was previously told there were five complainants, but that number is now reported as three, according to recent documents from Germain regarding the investigation.

There has been speculation about those higher in the university’s administration being involved, but Germain said he has never discussed the case with Chancellor Nancy Cantor and has had limited conversations with the dean of the law school regarding the case.

Germain has been investigating the case for the past few months, he said. He must decide whether Audaer is guilty or innocent before bringing a charge. He must then prove the case before an independent panel of faculty and students before Audaer can be penalized.

‘In any proceeding, I would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual did the wrongful act, and by a preponderance of the evidence that the act constitutes a violation of our rules,’ he said in e-mail.

The investigation has brought national attention to Syracuse University. After FIRE sent out a press release about the issue, David Ross, professor of mathematics at the Rochester Institute of Technology, sent an e-mail to Cantor and several other professors across the country about the investigation.

‘The press release, frankly, makes SU look foolish, at best,’ Ross wrote in a Dec. 14 e-mail obtained by The Daily Orange.

Ross frequently reaches out to speak with administrators when he hears about issues through the FIRE, he said. He contacts administrators to let universities know someone is watching.

‘My theory, my philosophy is that there’s lots of opposition of public debate at American universities — and that’s a bad thing,’ Ross said.

Usually when he writes to universities, he does not receive a response, he said. But this time Ross said Germain e-mailed him back and is taking a stand on the issue.

Ross said he has not come to a conclusion about the issue and is still evaluating both sides.

Audaer said he doubts the investigation will end soon. Germain has promised to close the case by Feb. 8, the final date when Audaer could withdraw from SU and receive a refund, Audaer said.

He expects Germain will prosecute, he said, although his lawyer, Blum, is in the process of trying to reach a settlement. But Audaer does not want to settle should it mean he admits he is the author of the blog, which he views as being declared guilty, he said.

Despite dealing with the investigation, Audaer said he has kept his grades up. The worst part of the investigation has been losing his place as a first year law student mentor, he said. But he plans to reapply for that next year should he still be at SU.

‘It’s been a rough semester,’ Audaer said. ‘But I think I’ve fought my way through.’

dkmbrid@syr.edu

 

Published on December 15, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride