A
male student at UC San Diego who was accused of sexual assault and
suspended after a campus investigation filed a countersuit — and won.
Here’s a look at if and how this could affect college rape trials across
the country. (Photo: Corbis/Richard Cummins)
Experts
say a new ruling in a sexual assault case involving two students at UC
San Diego should be a wakeup call to schools across the country that
sexual misconduct processes can be flawed.
The
alleged assault happened after the students met at a party early last
year, and began having consensual oral sex later that month, the Los Angeles Times reports. On Jan. 31, the couple went to a fraternity party and returned to the male student’s apartment, where they had sex.
That
led to a sexual assault complaint, a university investigation, and
suspension of the male student. The students have been identified only
as “John Doe” and “Jane Roe” because of the sensitive nature of sexual
assault cases.)
But
Doe pursued legal action in court and won, in what is believed to be
the first ruling in recent history that found a university failed to
give a fair trial in a sexual assault case.
In
his ruling, Superior Court Judge Joel M. Pressman cited the fact that
Doe was prevented from fully confronting his accuser in the trial, as
well as insufficient evidence that sexual encounters occurred without
Roe’s consent. Pressman also ordered the school to drop its suspension
against Doe.
Pressman
based his decision on the following: Roe filed the complaint four
months after the sexual encounter, alleged there were two cases of
sexual activity without her consent and one instance of retaliation. She
told a campus investigator that the alleged assault had greatly
impacted her, but text messages and testimony showed that she continued
to spend time with Doe. She also told the investigator that she was too
drunk to give consent before the encounters, but statements from 14
witnesses said otherwise.
The
investigator determined that one allegation of sexual assault without
consent was valid, and the findings were confirmed by a university
panel. Doe was suspended for a semester and ordered to sexual harassment
training and counseling.
Related: What’s Really Behind Rap Culture?
After
he sent a letter to the school’s dean, the suspension was increased to a
year, and another panel lengthened the suspension even more.
Doe
told the Times that he is innocent and said he was surprised by the
school’s findings. He said he had attended UC Davis trainings on sexual
misconduct and was aware of the need to make sure sex was consensual —
but says he was treated as guilty all along.
“The campus tribunal is basically a kangaroo court,” he said. “I knew I never did anything wrong.”
The
case has drawn attention from around the country as many are concerned
that sexual assault proceedings aren’t always fair to either side.
Sexual
assault lawyer Lisae C. Jordan, executive director and counsel of the
Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, says the case shows that more
work needs to be done in schools.
“Colleges
need better guidance about how to conduct fair and sensitive hearings
in sexual misconduct cases,” Jordan tells Yahoo Health. “Survivors and
accused students will benefit from fair hearings with clear procedures.”
Neena
Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, echoes
that sentiment, acknowledging that sexual assault cases are not easy to
handle.
“It’s
important for schools to strike the right balance because we know
victims are often deterred from coming forward,” she tells Yahoo Health.
“We hear reports from women and men who don’t know where to go or what
resources are available. It has to be fair to both sides, but doesn’t
inflict trauma on people who have suffered sexual assault.”
This issue is nothing new.
Currently,
the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is
investigating more than 100 campuses after reports surfaces that they
failed to properly handle sexual assault complaints.
Chaudhry
says this is a complaint regularly heard by her organization — schools
aren’t properly investigating or investigating at all when an assault is
reported.
She points to a lengthy Q&A
issued by the U.S. Department of Education to educate people on sexual
violence and procedures to follow in sexual assault cases. However, she
notes that there isn’t a law that requires schools to follow certain
steps. “The law really just requires basic fairness,” she says. That
includes due process — a notice of the charges against a person and the
opportunity to be heard.
Beyond that, there’s a lot of flexibility for schools on how to structure their hearings.
Chaudhry
doesn’t think this particular case with have a legal impact on a
national level because it’s so case specific, but says it may be a
wakeup call to schools about the need to solidify their proceedings in
sexual assault cases.
“Schools
are grappling with how to handle these issues, but they have a lot of
information available to them on it,” she says. “They need to sit down
with their lawyers and figure out how to conduct these hearing in a way
that ensures fair process for everybody.”
Chaudhry
admits that it’s hard to know whether the ruling will discourage other
victims of sexual assault from coming forward, adding that she hopes
this won’t be the case.
UC San Diego officials told the Times that they are considering an appeal.
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