JUDGE: U-Michigan is Trying To Protect President Mark Schlissel From Public. Here’s Why.
In a rare move in a lawsuit timeline filled with unusual moves, Judge Arthur Tarnow of the federal Eastern District of Michigan wrote an eight-page brief to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, defending his actions and criticizing the University of Michigan’s legal strategy and legal team. “The University’s attorneys appear to be more concerned with keeping the President out of the public eye than with prompt resolution of this case and providing a fair process for adjudicating sexual misconduct claims,” Tarnow wrote.
Tarnow had ordered to U-M President Mark Schlissel to appear in his court personally for a settlement conference in the case. U-M’s lawyers fought that order a number of times, including by asking the appeals court to stay the hearing. The appeals court temporarily stayed the hearing and asked Tarnow for an explanation. “Case management is the responsibility of the Court,” Tarnow wrote. “The chronology of this case gives the Court reason to believe that the parties are not working together to reach what it hopes is their common goal: instituting a University-wide sexual misconduct policy that protects the rights, needs and well being of all students, including victims of sexual assault and those accused of sexual assault.”
“The University has asked for permission to send another official with full settlement authority and expertise to attend in the President’s place, but it cannot even identify who this person is,” Tarnow wrote. “His (Schlissel) attendance at the conference avoids the need to resort to the bureaucratic and lengthy settlement process inherent in university litigation. It is also important for the President to be aware of the demeanor of his legal representative.” Tarnow went on to say the court “bent over backward” to accommodate Schlissel’s schedule, making several changes. As for holding the hearing in open court, instead of behind closed doors, Tarnow said he was following former Judge Damon Keith’s adage: “Democracies die behind closed doors.”
freep.com-David Jesse
