The day before a judge dismissed Penn State football player Chris Baker's most serious assault charge connected to his alleged involvement in an Oct. 7 fight, the Office of Judicial Affairs told the 20-year-old that he faces possible expulsion from the university, his lawyer said yesterday.
Defense attorney Karen Muir said she and Baker had an "informal meeting" Tuesday with Judicial Affairs representatives, during which officials said they plan to recommend his removal from the university.
If a recommendation is made, Muir said she would request a hearing in front of a review board to plead her client's case. For now, she said, Baker remains a student.
Joseph Puzycki, director of Judicial Affairs, could not be reached for comment.
Baker was charged in mid-November with aggravated assault, harassment and stalking, simple assault, and disorderly conduct.
Penn State Police say he punched and kicked a Philadelphia man in an October fight in the HUB-Robeson Center, joining as many as 15 other football players in stomping on the man outside a fraternity event.
On Wednesday, Centre County District Judge Carmine Prestia dismissed the aggravated assault charge for lack of evidence.
This wouldn't be Baker's first run-in with Judicial Affairs: Officials temporarily barred the player from the university for the second academic session this summer, punishing him and teammate Anthony Scirrotto for their alleged roles in a brawl at a downtown apartment. The players were allowed to return to participate in preseason practices.
Scirrotto and Baker's case has yet to be tried in criminal court, with preliminary conferences scheduled for February.
Muir said she does not expect Baker's alleged criminal history to affect his current case.
"The only way that would come into play at all would be if he violated the code of conduct for the university," she said.
University policy allows for three degrees of expulsion, according to the procedural disciplinary guidelines found on the Office of Judicial Affairs Web site, http://www.sa.psu.edu/ja.
An expulsion banishes a student from the campus for life; an interim expulsion forces a student to leave campus pending disciplinary proceedings; and an indefinite expulsion prohibits a student from visiting the university for at least one calendar year.
Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton confirmed that Baker is currently a student at the university, but could not elaborate further. He said the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), an educational privacy law, prevented him from disclosing any information about a student's academic status.
