The person sitting next to you in class may have plead guilty to a sex offense, but it probably won’t stop him from getting a degree from the University.

Joshua Clay Oliver, who has three credit hours left to graduate with a degree in International Affairs, may get the diploma even though a district court judge ruled in favor of the University to suspend Oliver for “one year for providing false information on his transfer application for admission,” according to documents obtained by The Red & Black.

The court decided May 30 to issue summary judgment against Oliver but is holding its ruling and his suspension because of his right to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

A temporary restraining order in 2006 allowed Oliver to remain enrolled at the University and attend classes. A December 2006 injunction prevented the University from suspending him.

“Surprisingly, Defendants [the University] never moved to modify or dissolve that preliminary injunction, nor did they aggressively pursue dismissal or summary judgment” to remove Oliver from classes, according to the court documents.

Almost a year after the injunction in November 2007, the University filed a motion for summary judgment. A briefing was held in February 2008, and a hearing was held on May 14.

“Now, after over a year of failing to aggressively push this matter toward resolution, Defendants urge that their motion be decided expeditiously because of their concern that the matter may become moot,” according to documents. Otherwise, Oliver will graduate after Session One on July 2.

“Plaintiff [Oliver] will suffer irreparable injury if the preliminary injunction is not dissolved and the Hearing Panel’s sanction is given effect . the terms of Plaintiff’s sanction require that he reapply for admission after one year, and there is at least some evidence that he may not be eligible for readmission based upon his previous first offender plea.”

The court said Oliver’s graduation will make little difference.

“The record contains no credible evidence whatsoever indicating that Plaintiff is a threat to the University community,” according to documents. Oliver’s first offender status should “completely exonerate . any criminal purpose and does not affect any of his or her civil rights.”

In 2003 Oliver was charged with rape and aggravated assault with intent to rape. He plead guilty to the aggravated assault charge, and the trial court dropped the rape charge. When he applied online for transfer admission in May 2005, he consulted his attorney to answer whether he had been convicted of a crime and entered “no.”

In April 2006 the University Police Department found his registration on the sex offender registry, and Kimberly Ellis, associate dean of students for judicial programs, issued suspension for providing false information to the University and completing a University record dishonestly. A hearing panel found him in violation of providing false information, and Oliver took the case to the Clarke County Superior Court after University President Michael Adams and the Board of Regents refused his appeal.

The initial story about the lawsuit.
List of Oliver documents.
April 2006 story about Joshua Clay Oliver.