UCONN IN A Compromise, Will Give Male It Suspended In Sex Misconduct Case A Chance To Defend Himself

UConn has agreed to give a second hearing to a student whose claim in a federal suit that he was wrongly accused and suspended for an alleged sexual assault had the potential to put the school’s system for investigating and punishing sexual misconduct on trial. The agreement comes as colleges and universities are under scrutiny of how sexual assault cases are handled on campus.

In a compromise filed in U.S. District Court, the university agreed to allow the male student, identified in court as John Doe, to submit to its disciplinary process a second time, but unlike the first time, present a defense. The agreement applies only to this case.

“UConn agreed to a process that is much more likely to result in a fair hearing for John Doe,” said Doe’s lawyer, Michael Thad Allen of Waterford. “It is just a shame that John Doe had to go to court to get it. Every student should have the right to present witnesses or question witnesses or to see all the evidence. Every student should have the right to have UConn follow its own rules. Every student should get a meaningful review of the single investigator. When faced with a court order UConn was willing to implement standards of fairness that I hope it will also implement in general, not just as a one-off remedy for John Doe.”