Opinion ID: 2005114
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: George Washington University Incident

Text: In December 1997, Antonini, then a student at George Washington University, was charged with burglary, assault, making threats, possession of a prohibited weapon (a butter knife), destroying property (a chair), unlawful entry, and stalking. Antonini pled no contest to destruction of property and stalking, and the remaining charges were dropped. Antonini was ordered to attend domestic violence and anger management counseling, stay away from the victim, pay restitution for the chair, pay a $100 fine, and serve 9 months' probation. The record reflects that Antonini went to a fellow student's dormitory room and an altercation between him and the student ensued. In the record before us, however, the specifics of the incident are conflicting. The incident report prepared by the Washington, D.C., police department described the events as follows. After Antonini entered the victim's dormitory room uninvited, an altercation occurred and Antonini grabbed the victim, threw her onto the bed, and attempted to jump on her. The victim kicked Antonini off, and Antonini grabbed a knife and threw it at her. The victim attempted to leave, and Antonini blocked her path by picking up a chair and slamming it on the floor, causing it to break. Antonini then began striking himself on the head with the broken chair leg. The victim again attempted to leave, knocking Antonini over a chair. Antonini, however, continued to block her escape. The victim began to scream for help, and Antonini exited the room. In his statement to the police, Antonini stated that the victim had not asked him to leave the room, that they had not engaged in a heated argument, that he had not prevented her from leaving the room, that he had not thrown a knife at her, that he had not pushed her onto the bed, and that he had not hit himself with the chair leg. He did admit, however, to breaking a chair. In his application for admission to the bar, Antonini explained that in December 1997, he received a telephone call from the victim who was upset, that she threatened to kill herself, and that she invited him to her dormitory room. Antonini claimed that after the victim invited him into her room, their conversation became heated and, in his frustration, he knocked over the chair he was leaning on, causing one of its legs to break. At the hearing, Antonini testified that he swung the chair to the side and that it hit a wall, causing one of the legs to break. Antonini stated that after he broke the chair, he told the victim he was leaving, and that as he started to walk out the door, the victim began to strike him with the chair leg. He further testified that as a result of this altercation, he was suspended from George Washington University for 6 months.