A Pima County judge yesterday ended a trial involving a political science senior who was sexually assaulted on campus, ruling in favor of the Arizona Board of Regents days before the jury was expected to issue a verdict.
The student filed a lawsuit against the board earlier this month, alleging the UA wasn't taking necessary precautions to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a man during the daytime in the Park Avenue Garage in 2002.
In April 2002, the student was pushed into her car while she was getting out of it to go to the library. After a man tried to assault her, he ran off. The incident was the sixth sexual assault to happen on campus in a week.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields wrote in his ruling the student didn't meet the burden of proof, and granted the defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law, effectively overriding the jury's expected decision.
The jury had been hearing the plaintiff's arguments in the case, and was expected to reach a decision tomorrow.
" . . . When the matter remains one of pure speculation and conjecture or the probabilities are at best evenly balanced, it becomes the duty of the Court to direct a verdict for the defendant," Fields wrote.
The defendants representing the board of regents asked the court in September to dismiss the case due to lack of evidence.
According to a petition from the defendant, Fields said he wanted to hear the evidence before issuing a summary judgment.
Harold Hyams, a lawyer representing the student, said he was surprised and "extremely disappointed" in Fields' ruling.
"We didn't expect to have the case pulled out from underneath us," Hyams said. "I don't understand it."
Hyams said the jury, not Judge Fields, should have decided the case.
"The jury should have the right to determine the outcome," Hyams said. "This jury was a committed jury."
In court, Hyams argued an alleged rape in 1998 in the same garage should have caused concern among university police and administrators and heightened security should have resulted.
But Fields called the link between the alleged rape in 1998 and the sexual assault in 2002 "a stretch," because the 1998 rape was never confirmed by police, and because it happened at night while the 2002 sexual assault occurred during in the day.
"The daylight rape was unprecedented in the Park Avenue Garage," Fields said.
Bruce Skolnik, an attorney for the defendant, declined to comment on the Fields' ruling, except to say, "We believe the court considered all the evidence and the laws and did the right thing."
Last week, Skolnik said the student failed to prove security enhancements would have prevented the assault, and failed to provide hard evidence that the university could have foreseen the crime.
But Hyams said according to precedent, the student didn't have to prove the crime would have been prevented, just that it would have been "deterred to a substantial degree."
Installing video cameras and closing off many entries and exits of the garage might have deterred the alleged sexual assault in 1998 and the 2002 sexual assault and could prevent future sex crimes from happening, Hyams said.
Hyams said UA students haven't been afforded any more protection since the sexual assault in 2002.
"This place is an assault waiting to happen," Hyams said of the Park
Avenue Garage. "How many people have to get sexually assaulted before they do anything?"
Hyams said he would appeal the decision, though he didn't know when or to which court. He said it is unfortunate the student will have to go through another painful testimony but said he hopes the university will take campus security more seriously.