In the case of Gopal Balakrishnan vs. The Regents of the University of California, filed in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District, Division Five (Case ID: A164480), on February 1, 2024, Dr. Gopal Balakrishnan appeals against a judgment denying his petition to set aside findings and decision to terminate his employment and deny him emeritus status for sexually abusing two women.
Dr. Balakrishnan, a former tenured professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), was accused of sexually abusing a fellow academic at an off-campus event and a UCSC student whom he volunteered to walk home from an off-campus graduation party. The accusations surfaced in 2017 when an anonymous letter accusing Dr. Balakrishnan of sexual intimidation, harassment, and assault was published online with over 150 signatures supporting it.
The plaintiff does not dispute the University's evidentiary finding that he sexually abused two women but contends that the University lacked jurisdiction to discipline him because the victims did not qualify as University students. He also argues that the University misinterpreted and misapplied its own regulations and policies, did not provide notice of all charges, and imposed excessive sanctions.
The plaintiff is seeking for a judgment to set aside the findings and decision of defendant, The Regents of the University of California (Regents), to terminate his employment and deny him emeritus status. He claims that the university lacked jurisdiction to discipline him because the victims were not university students.