Ellen Bublick in New York Times on Sexual Assault Victims' Right to Sue
Oct. 20, 2016
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New York Times
"Donald Trump Has Been Accused of Groping. But What Does the Law Say?"
Oct. 18, 2016
As multiple women have come forward with allegations of sexual assualt against Donald Trump, the New York Times examined how criminal and civil law treats cases involving such contact.
The paper turned to University of Arizona Law's Ellen Bublick, the Dan B. Dobbs Professor of Law, to answer the question of whether people can file lawsuits against suspected perpetrators, even if there are no criminal charges:
Yes. Generally, a defendant is liable for battery if he or she intentionally acted in a way that caused offensive contact without the plaintiff’s consent, said Ellen M. Bublick, a University of Arizona law professor who has written about lawsuits filed by sexual assault victims. That could include “contact that would be offensive to an ordinary sense of personal dignity such as an unwanted kiss” bestowed without consent, she said.