A division of California’s Second District Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that a woman who was attacked six years ago by a classmate wielding a kitchen knife in a UCLA chemistry lab cannot hold the university responsible, the Associated Press reports. Public colleges have no obligation to protect students from crimes committed by other students, the court ruled.
In its 2-to-1 ruling on Wednesday, the appellate panel overturned a lower court’s ruling. Katherine Rosen, the student who was allegedly attacked, sued the California regents and employees of the University of California at Los Angeles in the wake of the attack. Her accused assailant, Damon Thompson, was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Associate Justice Laurie Zelon said students in lower-level schools could expect protection from crimes in the classroom, but California courts have found that colleges are not responsible for protecting adult students.
“While colleges and universities may properly adopt policies and provide student services that reduce the likelihood such incidents will occur on their campuses, they are not liable for the criminal wrongdoing of mentally-ill third parties, regardless of whether such conduct might be in some sense foreseeable,” Justice Zelon said.
