JUDGE Asked To Block Overhaul Of Campus Title IX Sex Assault Rules
Saying the impending regulations will be costly and make it harder to discipline sexual misconduct, a group of blue states urged a federal judge recently to block the Trump administration’s changes to how schools must adjudicate sexual harassment and assault claims.U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols did not rule from the bench following a two-hour hearing held remotely, but said he will issue a ruling on whether to block the new regulations in “relatively due course.”
In 2018, the Trump administration announced plans to roll back a series of Obama-era guidance documents detailing how colleges adjudicate claims of sexual misconduct under Title IX. The Obama rules were hailed by advocates.. but some experts warned the regulations did not include sufficient due process protections for the accused and many accused students won lawsuits challenging their discipline under the rules. The Trump administration rules, which were formalized in May, were aimed at that critique of the regulations. The new rules require schools to hold a live hearing when adjudicating harassment and assault claims, allowing representatives for the accuser and accused to conduct cross-examination.
Jennifer Dickey, a Justice Department attorney who argued for the Trump administration, said pausing the implementation of the regulations over schools’ claims that they will have a hard time complying overlooks that the administration views the change as an important correction implicating constitutional and statutory concerns.
“This is the culmination of a nearly three-year process to identify and respond to a serious issue of sexual harassment across the country,” Dickey said. “The department is well aware that schools have adopted a series of approaches to respond to sexual harassment, not all of which have fairly treated the accuser and the accused, and Title IX obligations are not suspended during a pandemic.”
courthousenews.com-Tim Ryan
