Categories
Campus Due Process Sexual Assault

PR: Free Speech and Due Process Violations on Campus Give Rise to Budget Cutbacks, Costly Lawsuits

Contact: Gina Lauterio

Email: glauterio@saveservices.org

Free Speech and Due Process Violations on Campus Give Rise to Budget Cutbacks, Costly Lawsuits

WASHINGTON / March 1, 2016 – A growing number of budget cutbacks and lawsuits across the nation reveals colleges that fail to respect free speech and due process rights may incur substantial financial liabilities. SAVE urges administrators and lawmakers to work cooperatively to restore the constitutionally based rights of students and faculty members on campus.

Regarding free speech, state lawmakers in Missouri recently announced they plan to reduce funding for the University of Missouri by $8 million. State House and Senate members singled out the actions of professor Melissa Click who was recorded interfering with students’ exercise of free speech rights (1).

University of Missouri trustees were also informed that the university system expects to lose $20-25 million in tuition revenues this year. Last month Standard & Poor’s lowered the system’s credit rating, citing a severe drop in new student enrollments (2).

Last July Valdosta State University in Georgia settled a First Amendment lawsuit, agreeing to pay $900,000 to former student Hayden Barnes who had been expelled due to his protests over planned construction of two parking garages (3).

Due process violations are proving to be costly, as well.

In Georgia, Rep. Earl Ehrhart warned Georgia Tech president GP Peterson on January 26 that he wouldn’t consider Tech’s budget request until the college adopted “simple, basic due process protections.” The following week, Georgia Tech withdrew its request for state bond funds for building renovations (4).

Lawsuits filed by students accused of or expelled on allegations of sexual assault have become more prevalent. At the University of Montana, administrators just agreed to pay $245,000 to former quarterback Jordan Johnson for the college’s “misconduct” in investigating a 2012 rape allegation (5).

Last week the Rhode Island District Court refused to dismiss a complaint filed by a male student who had been suspended from Brown University, citing breach of contract and a pattern of sex discrimination against male students (6).

Last month two men announced they were suing the University of Texas to prevent sanctions from being imposed on them. They charged the school is using them as scapegoats to build a reputation for being tough on sexual assault (7).

Over 100 due process lawsuits have been filed against colleges and universities across the country (8).

 

(1)    http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/um-system-could-see-m-cut-under-mo-house-s/article_14d95137-311b-5d27-ade9-d9a5275c9768.html

(2)   http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/university-of-missouri-system-s-credit-outlook-is-lowered/article_3d6e872a-10b8-5285-b568-62cdb5afd4f9.html

(3)    http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/valdosta-state-to-pay-900k-to-settle-students-civi/nm5sy/

(4)    http://www.news.gatech.edu/2016/02/04/tech-withdraws-library-budget-request

(5)   http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/montana-to-pay-ex-qb-dollar245k-over-rape-investigation/ar-BBpB2l4?ocid=st

(6)   http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/Doe-v.-Brown-University-2016.pdf

(7)   http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/men-accuse-ut-of-unfairly-punishing-them-for-sex-a/nqQcf/

(8)    https://boysmeneducation.knackhq.com/due-process-lawsuits

 

SAVE is working for evidence-based, constitutionally sound solutions to campus sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Campus Due Process Sexual Assault

Law Professors, Lawmakers, and Others Strengthen Calls for Due Process in Campus Sex Cases

Contact:          Gina Lauterio

Telephone:     301-801-0608

Law Professors, Lawmakers, and Others Strengthen Calls for Due Process in Campus Sex Cases

WASHINGTON / January 25, 2016 – In recent weeks, numerous law professors, lawmakers, and others have issued statements calling for colleges to restore due process in the adjudication of sexual assault cases. These statements reveal a dramatic shift in the focus of the ongoing debate on campus sexual assault.

During a January 8 panel on “Grappling with Campus Rape” held at the American Association of Law Schools annual conference, several panelists were sharply critical of the current state of affairs. “’Rights’ is a generous description of what these schools gave the accused,” charged University of Miami law professor Tamara Rice Lave. http://reason.com/blog/2016/01/14/law-professors-against-title-ix-faculty

Two weeks later, over 80 members of the American Law Institute signed a letter deploring a proposed model penal code because the draft law would engender “expansive criminalization” of sexual assault. http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2016/01/more-concerns-expressed-about-alis-affirmative-consent-project-by-ali-members.html

Presidential candidates have expressed reservations about the proper handling of campus sex cases, as well.

On January 11, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders called for the referral of campus sexual assault cases to the criminal justice system, which embodies an array of due process protections. http://reason.com/blog/2016/01/13/bernie-sanders-said-something-sane-about

Republican candidate Marco Rubio recently issued a statement noting that false allegations of sexual assault “can destroy lives….Certainly, we should make additional efforts to protect due process on campus.” https://marcorubio.com/news/marco-rubio-campus-sexual-assault-bill-due-process/

State lawmakers are calling for a renewed focus on due process, as well.

In California, governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill last fall that would have established a mandatory minimum punishment for students found responsible of rape or sexual assault. “College campuses must deal with sexual assault fairly and with clear standards of process,” Brown announced. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-college-sexual-assault-punishment_561b184de4b0dbb8000f020f

Referring to a series of alleged due process abuses at Georgia Tech, Rep. Earl Ehrhart recently declared, “I cannot in good conscience continue to fund Georgia Tech at the level that it requests without some assurance to parents that there will be due process for their children.” http://blog.simplejustice.us/2016/01/17/crazy-campus-consent-conundrum- collapses/

Last week a federal court in Kentucky ruled that a campus sexual assault hearing should be regarded as a “proceeding…akin to a criminal prosecution,” and held that states should ensure that adjudicatory procedures are fair. https://www.thefire.org/opinion-and-order-in-doe-v-hazard-no-515-cv-00300-e-d-ky/

The Independent Women’s Forum just released a policy paper, Title IX and Freedom of Speech on College Campuses, which deplores the fact that colleges that adhere to “basic concepts of due process and innocence until proven guilty” could be found to be in violation of the federal Title lX sex discrimination law. http://pdf.iwf.org/PolicyFocus16_Jan_p3.pdf

In January, over 60 editorials were published that enumerated broad concerns over the lack of due process on campus: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/editorials/2016-2/ On January 17, for example, the Editorial Board of the Oklahoman noted that the processes used to handle sex allegations on college campuses “increasingly resemble kangaroo courts.” http://newsok.com/article/5472807?utm_source=MobileNewsOK.com&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=ShareBar-Facebook