Student facing criminal charges sues school

A Camden County medical student who was charged with attempted murder last month after allegedly throwing his girlfriend off a balcony has sued the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, saying the school violated his civil rights by barring him from campus following his arrest.

Brett Picciotti, 26, a fourth-year student at the university's School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, denies the charges against him and claims that UMDNJ officials violated the school's disciplinary policy by escorting him off campus without warning.

In the suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Camden, Picciotti's attorney alleges that the student was denied due process. He was not given written notice of the charges against him and had no chance to defend himself or to present evidence with a lawyer, according to the suit.

Picciotti, a Berlin resident who was to graduate next month, will suffer irreparable harm if he is not reinstated as a student immediately, the suit says.

Picciotti's attorney states in the filing that her client has no criminal record and was falsely accused by police. Picciotti has taken a polygraph test that confirms his innocence, according to the lawsuit.

Jeffrey Tolvin, director of media relations and communications at UMDNJ, said in a statement that Picciotti was on "inactive status."

"Under federal student privacy laws, we are prevented from commenting further," Tolvin said.

Frances A. Hartman, who is representing Picciotti, did not return calls for comment.

According to the UMDNJ Web site, students who take a leave of absence for personal, medical or other reasons are placed on inactive status.

According to the lawsuit, university officials have falsely said Picciotti is on a voluntary leave of absence. He has told school officials repeatedly that their statement is inaccurate, the suit alleges.

UMDNJ's student handbook says students can be put on a leave of absence for "academic or personal circumstances" following review by the Student Affairs Committee.

Students must abide by local, state and federal laws, the guidelines state. A student accused of legal or academic infractions is entitled to have his case heard by the school's hearing body, according to the handbook, which is made up of faculty, administrators, and at least one student. The panel can recommend discipline such as suspension or expulsion, or dismiss the charges.

Picciotti is asking for reinstatement and punitive damages.

Picciotti was charged with attempted murder on March 21 after police were called to an apartment in Marlton.

Police said an argument erupted between Picciotti and his 26-year-old girlfriend at a mutual friend's home around 6:30 p.m. Picciotti strangled her, according to police, then picked her up and threw her from a second-story balcony.

Joggers found the woman on the ground and called 911, police said. The woman, who was not seriously injured, was released that night from Cooper University Hospital.

Police said Picciotti was arrested several hours later at a relative's house in Brigantine, N.J., and was taken to the Burlington County jail. He has been released on bail. His case has not come before a grand jury for indictment.

Three days after his arrest, according to his lawsuit, Picciotti said he was called to the office of UMDNJ associate dean Paul Krueger. Krueger told Picciotti to turn in his school identification cards and leave campus, the suit says. Picciotti, who said he also was banned from off-campus school activities, claims that Krueger told him the measures were taken because of the criminal charge.

In the aftermath of several high-profile school shootings in recent years, colleges are taking a broader look at ways to prevent campus crime, said Jonathan Kassa, executive director of Security on Campus, Inc., a nonprofit group based in King of Prussia.

Though nobody can predict who will commit a crime, Kassa said more schools now take the position that it's better to be cautious, even when the student in question has not been tried.

"Schools are realizing they're part of the community and not an island unto themselves," Kassa said. "It's no longer acceptable to look the other way just because something has happened off campus."