Syracuse University Seeks to Prevent Campus Rape Victim From Obtaining Police Records

In February, New York State Court Judge Joseph Lamendola ruled in favor of Syracuse University, limiting the police records accessible to a former rape victim seeking to prove the university's inadequate security measures. The victim, Jane Doe, alleges that she was sexually assaulted in a bathroom on campus in February 1987, with the perpetrator entering through an unlocked door.

The university, however, has sought to block her access to many of the records, arguing that the subpoena is "overbroad" and suffers from "fatal geographic overreach." The university's lawyers suggested that the subpoena would be unnecessarily burdensome and waste time for all involved. Doe's attorneys have appealed the judge's decision, leading to a state appellate court review.

The case has drawn parallels to the university's efforts to suppress media coverage of sexual assaults during the 1980s, a time when multiple women alleged being victims of rape or attacks in the vicinity of the campus.