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Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, Joined by Dozens of Federal and State Judges, Calls for Due Process in Campus Sex Proceedings
WASHINGTON / February 20, 2018 – In a recent interview for The Atlantic, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg affirmed the need for due process in campus sexual assault proceedings. In addition, Ginsburg clarified that due process protections are not incompatible with aspirations for gender equality.
Asked, “What about due process for the accused?”, Ginsburg gave this reply: “Well, that must not be ignored and it goes beyond sexual harassment. The person who is accused has a right to defend herself or himself, and we certainly should not lose sight of that. Recognizing that these are complaints that should be heard. There’s been criticism of some college codes of conduct for not giving the accused person a fair opportunity to be heard, and that’s one of the basic tenets of our system, as you know, everyone deserves a fair hearing.” [emphasis added]
When the interviewer sought clarification whether “some of those criticisms of the college codes valid?”, Ginsburg provided this unequivocal answer: “Do I think they are? Yes.”
Queried about her thoughts how to balance the values of due process against the principle of sex equality, Ginsburg explained, “It’s not one or the other. It’s both. We have a system of justice where people who are accused get due process, so it’s just applying to this field what we have applied generally.”
Ginsburg’s sentiments on this issue have been echoed in recent rulings issued by dozens of federal and state judges.
Since 2012, over 200 lawsuits by students accused of sexual assault have been filed against colleges and universities. The SAVE report, Lawsuits Against Universities for Alleged Mishandling of Sexual Misconduct Cases, documents that in a majority of cases, judges have ruled in favor of the accused students (1). To date, 79 of these lawsuits have resulted in decisions by state and federal judges against the defendant university (2).
Justice Ginsburg’s comments were published in the February 15, 2018 edition of The Atlantic (3).
Citations:
- http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/Sexual-Misconduct-Lawsuits-Report2.pdf
- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CsFhy86oxh26SgTkTq9GV_BBrv5NAA5z9cv178Fjk3o/edit#gid=0
- https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/ruth-bader-ginsburg-opens-up-about-metoo-voting-rights-and-millenials/553409/
SAVE (Stop Abusive and Violent Environments) is working for effective and fair solutions to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence: www.saveservices.org