Adelphi Student Wins AI Plagiarism Lawsuit

An Adelphi University student who was accused of using artificial intelligence on an assignment has won a lawsuit against the institution, Newsday reported, with a federal judge ruling that the finding that he had plagiarized was without merit. The institution will be required to remove the plagiarism charge from his record; Adelphi students can face suspension or expulsion after committing two plagiarism offenses.

“It feels incredible to finally have my name cleared,” the student, Orion Newby, said. He is now a sophomore at Adelphi, where he is studying history. “Winning this case is a huge weight off of my shoulders.”

A spokeswoman for the university told Newsday that the institution “does not comment on litigation or on individual or personal cases involving students or faculty. We are evaluating the court’s decision and will proceed accordingly.”

The plagiarism accusation arose from a paper on Christianity and Islam that Newby had written in a World Civilizations 1 class his first semester of college. Turnitin’s AI detector marked the essay as fully AI-written, but Newby ran it through two other detectors that said it was written by a human, court records show.

The university denied an appeal of the plagiarism ruling, leading Newby’s parents to take legal action. The family said they have spent six figures on legal fees.