In the aftermath of a deeply troubling campus assault allegation at Cornell University, a law professor has stepped forward to remind a grieving and outraged public that the machinery of justice was built precisely for moments like this one. Menachem Rosensaft does not dispute the gravity of what is alleged — the drugging and gang rape of a young woman by fraternity members in October 2024 — but he cautions that collective fury, however understandable, has a long and painful history of destroying the wrong people. His intervention asks a question as old as civilization itself: can a society ho
Cornell Law Prof Warns Against 'Lynch Mob Mentality' in Alleged Gang Rape Case
An alleged victim reported being drugged and gang-raped at a fraternity party, suffering physical, emotional, and psychological injuries and loss of education.
The seven students have already been judged and condemned in the court of public opinion.
Mark
So the professor is saying we shouldn't talk about the case at all until there's a conviction?
Mimi
Not quite. He's saying there's a difference between taking the allegations seriously and treating the accused as already guilty. The DA reopened the investigation—that's the system working. What troubles him is the social media pile-on, the naming and shaming before trial.
Luke
But we should note: two of the seven were already expelled by Cornell's own process. So the institution itself made a judgment. That's not just public opinion—that's the university acting on evidence it reviewed.
Mark
Right. And the alleged victim is real. She filed suit. She's saying she was drugged and raped. That's not a rumor.
Mimi
Exactly. Rosensaft isn't denying that. He says her account deserves to be heard and she should have gotten better treatment from law enforcement initially. His concern is specifically about the broadside against the entire institution and the naming of accused students before trial.
Luke
Though we should be careful here: he's comparing this to the Central Park Five, but that's a comparison about wrongful conviction and exoneration. We don't know yet whether these seven men are innocent or guilty. The comparison assumes a parallel that may not hold.
Mark
So what's actually at stake in his argument?
Mimi
The question of whether due process can survive social media. Whether an accused person can get a fair trial when their name and face are already circulating, when politicians have already declared the institution corrupt.
Luke
And whether protecting the accused means silencing the accuser. Because if we say "don't name the accused," we're also saying "don't talk about this publicly," which historically has protected institutions over victims.
Mark
So there's no clean answer.
Mimi
No. There's a real tension. And Rosensaft is naming one side of it. But Luke's right—we shouldn't pretend the other side doesn't exist.
Le Pouls
- A former Cornell student's lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven Chi Phi fraternity members has ignited a national firestorm, pulling politicians, prosecutors, and the public into its orbit.
- The accused students' names and photos have circulated widely on social media, and at least one uninvolved man sharing a name with an accused faced harassment — a warning sign of how quickly collective outrage can misfire.
- Governor Hochul and Representative Ocasio-Cortez have made sweeping public statements, with AOC invoking a 'culture of rape' at elite institutions — language Rosensaft compares in its recklessness to Trump's 1989 death penalty call for the Central Park Five.
- The Tompkins County DA, initially criticized for not prosecuting the case, has reopened the investigation following the civil lawsuit — a procedural step Rosensaft endorses as the proper channel for accountability.
- Rosensaft insists the alleged victim deserves to be heard and to have her day in court, but argues the case has been overtaken by momentum rather than facts, threatening both due process and the integrity of the eventual proceedings.
In the aftermath of a deeply troubling campus assault allegation at Cornell University, a law professor has stepped forward to remind a grieving and outraged public that the machinery of justice was built precisely for moments like this one. Menachem Rosensaft does not dispute the gravity of what is alleged — the drugging and gang rape of a young woman by fraternity members in October 2024 — but he cautions that collective fury, however understandable, has a long and painful history of destroying the wrong people. His intervention asks a question as old as civilization itself: can a society hold space for a victim's suffering while still insisting that guilt be proven, not proclaimed?
A Cornell Law professor has issued a pointed rebuke of the public response to allegations that seven Chi Phi fraternity members drugged and gang-raped a female student at a campus party in October 2024. Menachem Rosensaft, a visiting professor at the law school, told reporters Thursday that the discourse has descended into "lynch mob mentality," with the accused already condemned in the court of public opinion long before any trial.
The case became public last month when the former student, identified as "Jane Doe," filed suit against the seven men and Cornell University, seeking damages for physical, emotional, and psychological harm, as well as the loss of her education. Two of the accused were expelled following Cornell's internal investigation, and the fraternity was removed from campus. Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten, who had faced criticism for not initially prosecuting the men, recently reopened the investigation in response to the lawsuit — a step Rosensaft called "absolutely appropriate."
But Rosensaft drew a firm line between supporting the alleged victim and the broader public frenzy. He called it "irresponsible" to circulate the names and photographs of accused students before any conviction, and noted that an entirely uninvolved man — who happened to share a name with one of the accused — had already faced online harassment as a result.
The case drew fierce political responses, including from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who declared at a town hall that elite institutions protect "a culture of rape, sexual assault and pedophilia." Rosensaft found this framing deeply troubling, comparing it to Donald Trump's 1989 call for the death penalty against the Central Park Five — five young men later fully exonerated. Tarring more than 20,000 Cornell students with the actions of a few, he argued, is not justice — it is its opposite.
Rosensaft was careful to affirm the alleged victim throughout. "She deserves to be listened to now, she deserves her day in court," he said. His argument was not about doubt — it was about distinction: the person who commits a crime bears responsibility, not the city, the campus, or the generation around them. In a media environment that rewards the swift verdict over the careful one, he suggested, that distinction may be harder than ever to hold.
A Cornell Law professor has pushed back sharply against what he calls the rush to judgment in the case of seven fraternity members accused of drugging and gang-raping a female student at a campus party in October 2024. Menachem Rosensaft, a visiting professor at Cornell Law School, told reporters Thursday that the public discourse surrounding the allegations has devolved into "lynch mob mentality," with accused students already "judged, sentenced, and condemned in the court of public opinion" before any trial.
The case surfaced publicly last month when the former student, identified in court documents as "Jane Doe," filed suit against seven Chi Phi members and Cornell University itself, seeking damages for physical, emotional, and psychological injuries, as well as compensation for the loss of her education. Two of the seven fraternity members were expelled following Cornell's internal investigation at the time, and the fraternity was barred from campus. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who faced criticism for not prosecuting the men initially, recently reopened the investigation in response to the lawsuit.
Rosensaft acknowledged the gravity of the allegations. "The underlying case is horrific," he said. "The trauma suffered by this young woman is utterly horrific, and I think that the decision by the DA to reopen the case and re-examine it is absolutely appropriate." But he drew a sharp distinction between supporting the alleged victim and the broader public response, which he characterized as reckless. He argued it was "irresponsible" to publicize the names and photographs of the accused students on social media without a conviction, and he warned that the case has become less about facts and more about momentum.
The case has drawn national attention and fierce political responses. Governor Kathy Hochul and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both weighed in, with Ocasio-Cortez declaring at a town hall that "the culture of rape, sexual assault and pedophilia is protected in elite institutions," including Cornell. Rosensaft found this language particularly troubling. He compared the political reaction to President Trump's 1989 call for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who were later exonerated by DNA evidence and a confession. "Referring to a rape culture, which tars over 20,000 students who have absolutely nothing to do with it, is just simply irresponsible, and it's wrong," Rosensaft said.
He also highlighted a collateral consequence of the public frenzy: a man who had no connection to the case at all faced online harassment because he shared a name with one of the accused. "What I'm really concerned about is that there is a tendency, especially with social media, to jump on issues, and never mind the facts, never mind nuances, and to go for the cheap headline, for the cheap moment of publicity," Rosensaft said. He emphasized that he was not casting doubt on the alleged victim's account. "She deserves to be listened to now, she deserves her day in court," he said, "and she should have had a different reaction from law enforcement."
Rosensaft's central argument rested on a distinction between accountability and collective blame. If a mugging occurs in midtown Manhattan, he reasoned, the mugger is responsible—not the entire population of the city. The same logic, he suggested, should apply to Cornell. The case has become a flashpoint in the broader tension between supporting alleged victims of sexual assault and protecting the due process rights of the accused, particularly in high-profile campus cases where social media can amplify judgment before facts are fully established.
Citations marquantes
The underlying case is horrific. The trauma suffered by this young woman is utterly horrific, and I think that the decision by the DA to reopen the case and re-examine it is absolutely appropriate.— Menachem Rosensaft, Cornell Law professor
What troubles me is that this has turned very quickly into a lynch mob mentality in which no one is looking at any of the underlying issues.— Menachem Rosensaft
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