PRESS RELEASE
Rebecca Stewart: 513-479-3335
Email: info@saveservices.org
Recent Title IX Lawsuits Confirm Brown University’s National Standing as Leading Kangaroo Court
WASHINGTON / January 31, 2022 – Two Title IX lawsuits against Brown University were resolved this past week in favor of the accused students. In the first case, the University and plaintiff’s counsel mutually agreed to dismiss the litigation. In the second lawsuit, the judge issued a preliminary injunction against the University. These developments embellish upon Brown University’s reputation as one of the pre-eminent Kangaroo Courts in the nation.
Smith v. Brown University
In the first case, Brown University student “Jane Roe” alleged that “David Smith” sexually assaulted her on October 30, 2021. As a result, Smith was suspended the following month. Following multiple petitions for limited relief, he was allowed to finish the semester remotely.
On January 14, 2022, Smith’s legal team, led by former Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch, filed a lawsuit charging the university had suspended Smith “prior to conducting any investigation, based solely on unsupportable, untrue accusations of sexual misconduct.” “The only way that the Threat Assessment Team could have recommended ongoing suspension was by accepting the wholly fantastic, internally flawed and unsupported one-and-a-quarter-page Formal Complaint in its entirety and by completely rejecting the logical and factual five-page Response and six pages of counter-evidence,” Smith’s attorneys wrote.[1]
In an apparent effort to forestall negative media attention associated with the case, the University agreed to dismiss the litigation on January 24.[2]
Stiles v. Brown University
In the second case, “Jane Roe” filed a Title IX complaint on November 18, 2021 against “John Stiles,” a member of the Brown University lacrosse team. Before conducting any formal investigation, the University removed Stiles from campus and suspended him, pending the resolution of the complaint.
In his Memorandum in support of John Stiles’ Emergency Motion for Injunctive Relief, attorney Richard Ratcliffe argued that Brown University breached the requirements of its student conduct code and caused him irreparable harm.[3]
Based on this information, Judge Mary McElroy concluded that Brown’s “Threat Assessment Team failed to afford [Stiles] a presumption that he was not responsible for the misconduct alleged and thus that ‘the university has failed to meet [the student’s] reasonable expectations’ of the terms of the relevant contract.”
As a result, Judge McElroy granted Stiles’ motion for preliminary injunction allowing him to return to the classroom and play on the university lacrosse team “until such time as he is found responsible for the alleged Title IX violations or a renewed threat assessment is properly conducted in accordance with the plaintiff’s contractual rights.”
Pre-Eminent Kangaroo Courts
Previously, Brown University found itself on the losing end of three Title IX judicial decisions, which were handed down on December 15, 2014, February 22, 2016, and September 28, 2016.[4] With Judge Taylor’s recent decision, Brown University confirms its standing as one of the nation’s leading Kangaroo Courts.
Other leading Kangaroo Courts include:
- Syracuse University – Six adverse rulings[5]
- University of Southern California – Six adverse rulings[6]
- Ohio State University – Four adverse rulings[7]
- Pennsylvania State University — Four adverse rulings[8]
To date, over 200 judicial decisions have been issued against universities in Title IX cases. A detailed analysis of these cases is available from SAVE.[9]
Citations:
[1] https://www.golocalprov.com/news/brown-defends-lax-player-suspension-pending-sexual-assault-investigation
[2] https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/01/suspended-athletes-facing-sexual-assault-allegations-sue-university
[3] Stiles v. Brown University, No. 1:21-cv-00497 (D.R.I. Dec. 20, 2021), ECF No. 11-2.
[4] All three lawsuits were named Doe v. Brown. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CsFhy86oxh26SgTkTq9GV_BBrv5NAA5z9cv178Fjk3o/edit#gid=0
[5] https://www.saveservices.org/2021/12/16-new-york-colleges-now-listed-in-the-kangaroo-court-hall-of-shame-syracuse-u-is-worst-offender/
[6] https://www.saveservices.org/2021/12/10-california-universities-now-listed-in-the-kangaroo-court-hall-of-shame-usc-is-the-worst-offender/
[7] https://www.saveservices.org/2021/12/4202/
[8] https://www.saveservices.org/2021/12/penn-state-the-worst-offender-among-pennsylvania-kangaroo-courts/
[9] https://www.saveservices.org/title-ix-regulation/analysis-of-judicial-decisions/