Kelly Heyboer and Sue Epstein report:
More than a year after Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi was seen kissing a male date on a webcam, the public still doesn’t know the identity of the other man in the high-profile case. But the young gay man lives in terror his name will leak out and “the harm will be irreversible,” he said in court papers filed today.
The man — known only as M.B. in court papers — made his first public statement in a motion filed by his attorney in New Brunswick. M.B. asked a judge to reverse an earlier order to turn over his name to defense attorneys in the case against the former Rutgers student accused of spying on him and Clementi.
Read more on NJ.com.
The accused has a right to defend himself and that right often trumps any privacy claims. But given that this young man would be “outed” by the process and was himself a victim of any illegal surveillance, should the court grant his motion to shield his identity from the defense? It seems to me that if the prosecution intends to call him as a witness, the defense has to be given his details so that they can prepare their defense. That said, given the discrimination against GLBT youth, I understand and support his request that he not be publicly outed.
What do you think?