LAWSUIT: Penn State Kicks Acc’d Male Out. Male Denied a TitleIX Testimonial Hearing.
Without holding a TitleIX testimonial hearing, Penn State University suspended a male student after a female accused him of sexual assault…Penn State further altered its policy so that neither the accused student nor the accuser appears at a hearing, which precludes either party from confronting and cross-examining witnesses. Instead, cases are assigned to an investigator who evaluates the claims, interviews the accused and accuser, and then prepares a report for a committee. The ‘committee’ (sounds Gestapo right?- SOS words) decides if the allegations are founded or unfounded. The committee gives each party the opportunity to respond to findings in the report. John Doe’s attorney, Andrew Shubin, contends that is not sufficient to protect the accused student’s rights. “These are usually ‘he said, she said’ cases where credibility is incredibly important,” Shubin said. “The only way to test credibility in the legal system is cross-examination.” Shubin noted the new policy impacts only sexual abuse investigations. Students accused of any other type of offense are still provided a hearing at which they can confront their accuser. “The stakes are arguably much higher when it comes to sexual misconduct, yet the rights given in sexual misconducts case is far less,” Shubin said. The lawsuit asks a judge to declare his client’s right to due process was violated and award him monetary damages. It also seeks an order directing the university to vacate its finding that the allegation was founded, remove the disciplinary action from his file and to reinstate him.
citizensvoice By Terrie Morgan-Besecker
