Law Student Who Made Up Racial Profiling Claim Received His JD
Updated: A University of Virginia law student who admitted fabricating a racial profiling claim has received his law degree.
The student, Johnathan Perkins, was acquitted of a university honor charge this summer by a jury of fellow students, report Above the Law, the Daily Progress and the Cavalier Daily. The acquittal allowed Perkins to receive his JD.
Perkins was a 3L when he alleged in a letter to the law school’s student newspaper that he was a victim of racial profiling by campus police. “As I stood there, humiliated, with my hands on the police car, my only thought was: ‘There is nothing I can do to right this wrong,’ ” he wrote. He later admitted he made up the incident to draw attention to police misconduct.
Law school dean Paul Mahoney released a statement saying the university will “furnish a statement regarding the honor charges and underlying circumstances to any state bar” to which Perkins applies.
Subsequent coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Former law student says he recanted racial profiling claim because of FBI pressure”
Updated on Oct. 4, 2017, to provide link to subsequent coverage.
