GOOD NEWS. Judge Stops UVA From Expelling Male for Off-Campus, Non-Student Claim of Rape
Just days before a university hearing that could have resulted in expulsion for an accused student, a federal judge stepped in, warning the University of Virginia it may not even have authority to punish him. Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad cited the off-campus nature of the alleged sexual assault and the fact that it involved a female who had no connection to the public university. It was an incredibly quick response from the legal system: “John Doe” sued on Tuesday and had a teleconference hearing Thursday with Conrad. The next day, the judge granted the preliminary injunction against a 7/1/19 scheduled university hearing.
John has already completed all the requirements of his degree and has no reason to return to campus. He was told in May that his degree would be withheld pending the results of the proceeding. If the scheduled UVA hearing had happened – a review panel that adjudicates contested findings by the investigator – its decision could not be further appealed. An affirmation of the investigator’s report would mean John never gets his degree.
The judge cited a 2016 ruling against Virginia’s George Mason University that found a student’s expulsion for sexual misconduct “implicated a protected liberty interest,” at least for public universities like UVA and GMU. Under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, and UVA’s own Title IX policy, the university likely didn’t afford John the requisite due process. Conrad cited the off-campus and non-student nature of the allegations, and the fact that John had already completed his degree requirements when the final investigative report was finally issued a month ago
UVA twice ignored John’s lawyer warning that he would sue the public university for lack of jurisdiction, according to Conrad’s summary. “Roe was not a University student or employee, and she was not involved in any programs or activities offered by the University,” Conrad wrote – the conditions under which UVA must take action under Title IX. John is no longer on campus; there’s no way his accuser, a non-student, could be “unduly prejudice[d]” by a preliminary injunction; and UVA has offered no explanation for vastly exceeding the 60-day window for investigations to be completed under its own policy, according to the judge.
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