Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz appeared on Newsmax Thursday to weigh in on what punishments could follow as two Syracuse University freshmen face hate crime charges after police said they hurled pork into a Jewish fraternity house during Rosh Hashanah.
Police charged two 18-year-old Syracuse University students with burglary as a hate crime and criminal nuisance after one allegedly threw a bag of pork into a Jewish fraternity house during Rosh Hashanah. In an appearance on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Dershowitz said the students’ actions crossed university standards of decency more than criminal law, predicting they could face expulsion on campus.
“It seems to me that this is much more an expellable offense by the university because it violates all the standards of decency than it is a serious crime. But it is a crime and probably they’ll get a suspended sentence or a few weeks in jail just to demonstrate that people take this kind of thing seriously,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz said the case hinges on whether the prank rose to the level of criminal intent or remained an offensive act of expression.
“If they had done it outside the fraternity, it would be different. It would be hate, but it would be expressive speech and probably protected by the Constitution,” Dershowitz said. “But once one of them went into the House and the other one stayed outside knowing that he was going to help the first one escape, they both did commit technically the crime of burglary. Burglary is entering on the premises of another with an intent to commit a crime.”
Dershowitz questioned whether the incident should be treated as a misdemeanor prank or a hate-fueled crime.