NYS Court of Appeals upholds SBU panel decision in 2019 alleged sex assault case

ALBANY — New York’s top court has upheld a decision by Stony Brook University to suspend a student in an alleged 2019 sexual assault case involving informed consent.

The Court of Appeals, in a 7-0 decision issued Tuesday, said the suspension handed down by a Stony Brook review panel and an internal appeals committee was "supported by substantial evidence" the woman in the incident was unable to give "affirmative consent" to have sex with the male student because she was intoxicated and possibly blacked out.

In doing so, the Court of Appeals reversed a midlevel court ruling that found a lack of consent couldn’t be proven.

The case was a test of stronger affirmed-consent laws and rules put in place by universities and state government in the wake of the "Me Too" movement to heighten awareness about sexual assaults.

The court identified the students by their initials only and gave no details as to whether either remained at the university after the incident. Neither Stony Brook nor the attorney for the male student returned calls to comment.

The incident occurred in September 2019. The students attended a campus event with another friend, who eventually left the two alone. They had been drinking throughout the day, according to court documents, and later engaged in intercourse in her car. But she told investigators she thought she’d blacked out, woke up and felt like she was dreaming during the contact in the car.

The male denied they had sex without her consent. But, according to court documents, he declined to answer when asked if he could identify actions or words from the woman that could have signaled consent. And in later text messages, he told the woman he knew he messed up and apologized.

The Stony Brook review panel concluded a "preponderance of evidence" showed the male violated the student code and was responsible for misconduct.

The panel said the student should be suspended two years; a campus appeals committee upheld the decision.

The student sued and the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, New York’s midlevel court, ruled in his favor in 2023. It said there was no substantial evidence showing the woman "did not otherwise consent to the sexual activity."

That ruling was in error, the Court of Appeals said.

"Although some aspects of the sexual encounters may have been consensual, there is ample evidence that other aspects were not," wrote Judge Anthony Cannataro in the decision.

He said Stony Brook correctly followed a new state law outlining affirmative consent and properly incorporated the law in its student code of responsibility.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy