Cheating litigation moves to next phase

NEW BRITAIN, Conn., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A substitute teacher involved in a 2006 cheating scandal at Central Connecticut State University has appealed a ruling that she copied a term paper.

Cristina Duquette was originally considered a victim, with the school finding Matthew Coster copied her paper on the Holocaust for a Western Civilizations class. The two students were in different sections of the course.

But Coster, who was expelled from CCSU, appealed and presented evidence he filed his paper almost two weeks before Duquette submitted hers. A judge ruled in his favor, ordering Duquette to pay him $100 for the use of his paper and $28,000 for his legal expenses.

Now Duquette has asked an appellate court to reverse Judge Jane Scholl's decision, The Hartford Courant reported. Her lawyers, in an appeal filed Tuesday, described Scholl's findings as "entirely implausible."

Duquette, who graduated last year, has been working as a substitute teacher in Waterbury. After Scholl's ruling, Coster was allowed to re-enroll at CCSU, where he resumed his studies this year in computer science.