When the Office of Public Safety sent an e-mail last May to students, faculty, and parents regarding Stephen Morgan, the alleged killer of Johanna Justin-Jinich ’10, they attached two photos. One of the photos, which was obtained from a driver’s license database, was quickly found to be a different Stephen Morgan. While many follow-up e-mails were sent to the University community with updates on the case, no mention was made of the incorrect photo, which also appeared on the University website.

Now, Dr. Stephen L. Morgan, the Cornell professor whose photograph appeared in news sources across the country as a wanted killer, is suing the University, claiming three counts of knowing falsehood, recklessness, and negligence.

According to The Hartford Courant, Connecticut State Police and Middletown Police supplied the photo to the University to determine if any connection existed between Morgan and Justin-Jinich. When asked to comment, a representative from Connecticut State Police said that they did not authorize the photograph’s release. Both photos were soon featured on news websites and TV networks alongside stories of the tragic shooting.

Dr. Morgan, who has two children aged two and four years-old, is the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Director of the Center for the Study of Inequality, and a Professor of Sociology at Cornell University. Dr. Morgan, whose name so closely resembles that of Justin-Jinich’s killer, Stephen P. Morgan, has no criminal record.

The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 24, claims that “[Wesleyan] implied that Dr. Morgan murdered the victim and may murder others because of their Jewish faith thereby implying that Dr. Morgan was a homicidal racist.” The lawsuit also cited several statements made on CNN broadcasts while Dr. Morgan’s photo was featured on the television screen.

According to the lawsuit, “As a result of the defendant’s actions, Dr. Morgan has been forced to expend significant amounts of time and effort explaining that he is not a murderer to his family, friends, colleagues, students, professional associates, and others.”

On Dec. 4, a comment allegedly written by Dr. Morgan appeared on Wesleying, the student blog, in response to a post titled “Other Stephen Morgan Sues Wes.” Dr. Morgan was not available to confirm that the post was written by him.

“What did Wesleyan do? I do not know of a single media outlet that they contacted, asking that my photo be removed,” the comment read. “I was left to do that, and fortunately the Middletown Police Department and Cornell University helped me a great deal in those efforts.”

The post went on to explain that David Winakor, the University’s general legal counsel, provided an insufficient explanation for the incident, and refused to provide a public apology, claiming the University “did nothing wrong.” It was at this point, according to the post, that Morgan chose to file his lawsuit.

Winakor declined to comment on the case, and would not provide The Argus with authorization to speak with James K. Robertson, Dr. Morgan’s attorney. The Office of University Relations and the Office of Public Safety also declined to comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit stated that, “A simple Internet search would have revealed that the Stephen Morgan in the photograph could not have been the suspect . . . As a result of the defendant’s actions, national and international media outlets republished the name and photograph of the plaintiff indicating that the man in the photograph was suspect in the ongoing murder investigation.”

According to Professor John Finn, Chair of the Government Department, however, this does not necessarily mean that Dr. Morgan will not seek to file suit against media sources in the future.

“At this point, [Morgan’s counsel] seems to be concentrating on a theory of liability that relies on the idea that the University was in a unique position to know,” Finn said. “In my opinion, the idea that the lawsuit is patently frivolous or wrong is incorrect…but the fact that we were under lockdown and in an emergency would likely be a factor in determining the reasonableness of the University to act in that situation.”

The University must file an appearance, a response to receiving the suit, by December 15.