Share via Email Public university students accused of sex assault must get some chance to confront accusers (at least in ‘he said/she said’ cases)

Eugene Volokh  "From today’s Sixth Circuit decision in Doe v. University of Cincinnati:

University of Cincinnati students John Doe and Jane Roe [pseudonyms] engaged in sex at John Doe’s apartment. John contends that the sex was consensual; Jane claims it was not. No physical evidence supports either student’s version.

After considerable delay, defendant University of Cincinnati (“UC”) held a disciplinary hearing on Jane Roe’s sexual assault charges against graduate student John Doe. Despite Jane Roe’s failure to appear at the hearing, the University found John Doe “responsible” for sexually assaulting Roe based upon her previous hearsay statements to investigators. Thereafter, UC suspended John Doe for two years — reduced to one year after an administrative appeal….

The Due Process Clause guarantees fundamental fairness to state university students facing long-term exclusion from the educational process. Here, the University’s disciplinary committee necessarily made a credibility determination in finding John Doe responsible for sexually assaulting Jane Roe given the exclusively “he said/she said” nature of the case. Defendants’ failure to provide any form of confrontation of the accuser made the proceeding against John Doe fundamentally unfair.  . . . Full article here.

Via Wolf & Pravato Law Offices