CBS DOC: Speaking Frankly. Students Accused of Sex Misconduct Say Title IX Isn’t Working & Accusers Agree
“I don’t think anyone ever thought that colleges and universities would be adjudicating and holding court regarding sexual crimes in America,” says Mark Hathaway, a partner at the firm. “But that’s what it’s developed into.”
“The students have no right to an attorney. The evidence isn’t given to them until right before the hearing. Often times it’s heavily redacted. There’s unknown witnesses,” says Hathaway. “So it’s like the school prosecuting a student but the student is really left to fend for themselves and usually it doesn’t fare well for them.” Although Title IX cases are not criminal proceedings, the findings can have a significant impact on students’ futures, so an increasing number of those involved are bringing lawsuits against their schools.
According to Title IX For All, a database that tracks lawsuits filed by respondents in higher education Title IX proceedings, there are 140 active lawsuits against colleges and universities filed by students who say they were denied due process. But it’s not just the respondents who say the Title IX system is failing them. Lara Bazelon, a law professor at the University of San Francisco, says Title IX investigations can be extremely complicated, and the system we have in place just isn’t helping. “One thing I have come to believe is that both sides can be genuinely, equally convinced that their version of events is true. That one side really believes that the encounter was consensual, and the other side truly believes that it was not. And neither person is lying. And that makes these cases so incredibly difficult to litigate and also for anybody to decide.”
“I think we really need to look seriously at some kind of alternative to the way we’re doing things now, because I don’t think you’ll find anybody who is going to sit here and tell you with a straight face that what we are doing right now with Title IX on college campuses is working.” -Bazelon
Watch the 30 Min Doc. here: cbsnews
