Talk:Sujit Choudhry

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Controversy

I have edited this section to include a short summary of the April 2017 settlements. I also don't think that this section has an excessive amount of intricate detail, and suggest removing the template saying that it does. LexLife (talk) 09:53, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

@Kkat.boro—the edits to what was formerly called the "Controversy" section and is now called "Later career" leave out an important point. While the report on the settlement does say that Professor Choudhry remains a tenured faculty member in good standing, it also says that he has agreed to resign in 2018. Leaving this out seems to misstate the import of the settlement. LexLife (talk) 16:22, 21 May 2017 (UTC)

Agree with LexLife and altered Dryquail whw (talk) 03:57, 25 May 2017 (UTC)

The first sentence of the second paragraph says "In 2016 Choudhry stepped down from his position as dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law after sexually harassing an executive assistant". But it was never legally established that the sexual harassment took place. There was no court case, and no admission of guilt. Shouldn't this therefore read "allegedly sexually harassing"? Zalali (talk) 20:10, 21 July 2021 (UTC)

In saying that he did in fact sexually harass his executive assistant we are following what RS say. See e.g. the first of the three sources cited for this statement: A written report from Berkeley’s office for the prevention of harassment and discrimination concluded that Choudhry’s behavior had violated campus sexual harassment policies. The dean did not dispute the substance of Sorrell’s complaint, only whether the physical contact occurred several times a day or a few times a week, the report states. (emphasis added) [1] Generalrelative (talk) 02:08, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Restoring Controversy

All references to the 'controversy' were removed on 3 June 2018 by someone without an account (just an Ohio IP address). As they did not post here or add context to the change, I can only assume it was with malicious intent and reverted the change. Arichiv (talk) 23:56, 17 August 2018 (UTC)

I'm just replying here to note that this seems to be an issue that crops up on this bio from time to time. I've just reverted a similar effort by an IP to cut all mention of the sexual harassment complaint and lawsuit: [2]. There should be some kind of a record here on Talk so that others can see the makings of a consensus that yes this material is definitely WP:DUE for this bio. Given the variety of sources which discuss it, the sexual harassment suit and its outcome clearly represent a large part of this figure's notability –– even in the context of his otherwise illustrious career. Generalrelative (talk) 02:03, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Update suggestions for Choudhry article, January 2023

Dear Wikipedia Editor:

I am recommending updates to the entry for Canadian constitutional lawyer Sujit Choudhry. The structure of the article should be improved based on MOS:SNO. And, the latest details in the article are from 2017. I have a personal connection to Choudhry, and thus have a conflict of interest under Wikipedia policy.

1. After the “Early life” section please add a new section with the title “Legal career,” and please add the following sentences below as the section’s first paragraph (more suggested paragraphs will follow in the subsequent requests.

A Career section is standard in Wikipedia articles about almost all people, including lawyers and the standard practice is for it to be immediately after “Early life.” I looked at these Good Articles about lawyers as structure models for “section order”, as per MOS:SNO: e.g., Douglas P. Woodlock, Thomas Binger, Carrie Goldberg, and Miranda Du. Mostly I used secondary sources except to verify basic facts in a few places, such as dates and exact titles.

Legal career

• Choudhry joined the faculty of the University of Toronto in 1999 and received tenure in 2004. As of 2006 he was professor and the Scholl chair in law at the University of Toronto. From 2008 to 2011 he served as associate dean. Choudhry left the University of Toronto in 2011 when he was hired by New York University. At NYU, Choudhry was the Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law and the faculty director of the Center for Constitutional Transitions in 2012.

 Done Spencer^T•C 02:40, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

• In June 2014, Choudhry became Dean of Law at UC Berkeley.

 Done I also moved the other information regarding the sexual harassment lawsuit here since it relates to his time at UC Berkeley.

2. From the “Academic services” please move the first sentence to the end of the new “Legal career” section’s second paragraph to make a new fourth sentence. I’ve improved the sourcing – providing a more independent WP:Primary for the title of his professorship at Berkeley Law. I also slightly reworded it as two sentences:

Sentence to move from Academic services to Career:

• Choudhry was the first person of Indian origin to be named dean of a top U.S. law school. He was also named the I. Michael Heyman Professor of Law at Berkeley.

 Partly done I'm unable to access the linked article, but removed the first sentence because it is unclear what "top US law school" means. If he is the first person of Indian origin to be named dean of a U.S. law school, happy to add that in with a reference but it's unclear what that means.

3. In the new “Legal career” section, please add a subsection entitled “Notable Cases.” The first case represents Choudhry's principal role in litigating two related free-speech constitutional cases, as covered by one of Canada’s leading newspapers, The Globe and Mail.

Notable Cases

• In 2021, Choudhry represented Canadian author Joel Bakan in a lawsuit against Twitter, claiming Twitter’s refusal to publish a paid tweet promoting Bakan’s documentary The Corporation violated Bakan’s free speech rights; Choudhry also sued the Canadian government for failing to issue regulations that protect constitutional freedom of speech on technology platforms. In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court ruled against Twitter’s attempt to have the case thrown out.

 Done Spencer^T•C 02:40, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

4. In the new “Notable cases” sub-section, please add the following paragraph in chronological order. It also represents Choudhry principal role in litigating a constitutional case, as covered by one of Canada’s leading newspapers, Toronto Star.

• In 2021, Choudhry represented seven families in a citizenship case challenging the constitutionality of a 2009 change in the Canadian Citizenship Act. He argued that the law unconstitutionally cut off birthright citizenship to children born abroad to Canadian parents who were also born outside Canada, effectively making the children stateless persons.

 Done Spencer^T•C 02:40, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

5. In the new “Notable cases” subsection, please add the following paragraph in chronological order. It represents Choudhry’s prominent role in a public hearing case covered by Canada’s leading newspapers, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.

• Choudhry also participated in the Public Order Emergency Commission hearing of Trudeau’s actions in October 2022. He cross-examined the Prime Minister about his decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. Choudhry questioned Trudeau on whether he properly disclosed information about deliberations leading to the decision.

 Done Spencer^T•C 02:40, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

Thank youTimbuktu1900 (talk) 20:55, 3 February 2023 (UTC) Timbuktu1900 (talk) 20:55, 3 February 2023 (UTC)

See my replies inline to the requested edits above. Spencer^T•C 02:40, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

References

BLPN discussion

There is a discussion at WP:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard#Sujit Choudhry concerning the allegations of harassment described in the article. Timbuktu1900 (talk) 17:57, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

Requesting review sections of a proposal not previously reviewed

@Tristario: Thanks so much for your help with the BLPN post (now archived here: [3].) As I explained on that post, I have a conflict of interest as a personal connection of Choudhry’s. I appreciate your taking the time to review some of the requested changes. I wonder if you now might have the time to look at the requests you didn’t have time to review before and to consider some additional changes:

• I appreciate your including the denial in the body of the article. But I think this should be in the lead as well. It seems crucial. He continued to deny the accusations even at the time of the announcement of the settlement, (critically, none of the settlement went to the accuser). This is well documented in the sources, such as the Toronto Globe & Mail. [4]

Right now the sentence about this reads as follows:

He stepped down from his position as dean in 2016 after being accused of sexually harassing an executive assistant, paying a $100,000 settlement but retaining his position on the faculty.

I think this version is more accurate and appropriate for BLP reasons:

He stepped down from his position as dean in 2016 after being accused of sexually harassing an executive assistant, a charge he consistently denied. The case was eventually settled out of court in 2017, with the university dropping all disciplinary proceedings and allowing him to remain on the faculty in good standing, and Choudhry agreeing to pay $50,000 to the accusers attorneys and another $50,000 to charities of the former assistant’s choosing.

• Regarding Point B in the previous post, Choudhry’s racial discrimination lawsuit against the University, prior to the settlement, is very important context for these events. It alleges that there was a history of similar behavior by while male professors who were not subjected to serious disciplinary action. The lawsuit was covered in Bloomberg Law [5] and the Toronto Globe and Mail [6]. I’d ask that you please include this.

• In part C of the BLPN post, an important aspect of the settlement is that all disciplinary proceedings against Choudhry were dropped and he was allowed to remain faculty in good standing. This is not currently reflected on Wikipedia and it really should be, consistent with WP:Balance. There isn’t any contradiction amongst the sources on this point. The sources establish that the University dismissed all disciplinary actions and Choudry remained tenured. One can even tell from the reaction of the accusing party that she considered the settlement to vindicate Choudhry. She said that the settlement “insults all who suffer harassment at the hands of those with power and privilege.” [7]

Timbuktu1900 (talk) 19:51, 1 June 2023 (UTC)

I added some details, which I think seem to be generally agreed upon by sources. Tristario (talk) 04:17, 2 June 2023 (UTC)

References