Anna Stubblefield, a professor of philosophy at Rutgers-Newark who had been accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled student in her office (previously), will be in court in December and January for a pair of evidence hearings, according to an article at NJ.com.

From the article:

Prosecutors allege Stubblefield, 44, of West Orange, repeatedly sexually assaulted D.J. in her Newark office in 2011. In January 2013, she was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault. Rutgers placed Stubblefield on administrative leave without pay and stripped her of the title of chairwoman of the philosophy department after the sexual assault allegations surfaced. The upcoming hearings will be used by Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare to determine what evidence will ultimately be presented to a jury. The case rests largely on whether D.J. consented to the sexual activity…

The state is trying to bar the trial testimony of the defense expert, Dr. Rosemary Crossley, who is expected to testify at the January hearing. The defense wants Crossley to testify at the trial. In her “communication assessment” of D.J., Crossley determined that “he could communicate, he could respond to questions and that he could read at least to a fifth-grade level,” Patton said. Patton has previously argued D.J. may be physically impaired, but he has the mental capacity to understand questions and give his consent. The state’s experts, however, have found D.J. does not have the ability to consent, and prosecutors are looking to include that testimony at the trial.