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A student accused of delivering marijuana to a friend in quarantine is suing Syracuse University for excessive punishment. 

The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the Onondaga County Supreme Court, claims that the university imposed disproportionate sanctions after it accused the student of distributing marijuana — an accusation the plaintiff denies. SU suspended the student for a year and ordered him to complete 40 hours of community service and a decision-making workshop. 

The student, who is identified in the lawsuit only as John Doe, is asking for SU to annul, void and vacate his suspension and remove the disciplinary action from his records. 

An SU spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

On Oct. 29, the plaintiff delivered a friend’s backpack to the Sheraton Hotel, where she was quarantining. A hotel staff member asked to search the bag and told the student he was “good to go” after looking through it, court documents show.

Ten minutes later, the staff member claimed to smell marijuana coming from the bag and called the Department of Public Safety. When DPS officers searched the bag, they claimed to find a brown leafy substance and chocolate covered strawberries, which they alleged contained marijuana. The student denies the accusations. 

Though a presumptive test performed by DPS showed that an illegal substance might have been present in the bag, SU hasn’t provided any information showing that it conducted any more accurate tests, the lawsuit said. The university also hasn’t provided any evidence that the strawberries in the bag contained marijuana.

On Jan. 19, the University Conduct Board found the student responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct. The student, whose university email wasn’t working properly, did not receive notice of the conduct board hearing and didn’t attend, according to the lawsuit. The board made its decision based on DPS records and body camera footage from officers who responded to the Sheraton. 

The student appealed the decision on Jan. 28, arguing that his presence at the hearing could have altered its outcome and that the board’s sanction was “grossly inappropriate.” The Appeals Board denied his arguments and upheld the sanctions on Feb. 22. 

The lawsuit argues that SU’s “disproportionate punishment has already resulted in substantial harm” to the plaintiff, who has been “treated like a criminal” and “forced to disengage from academic life.” 

SU lawyers have agreed to allow the student to return to classes until the lawsuit is resolved, court documents show.

Published on March 1, 2021 at 8:36 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3