The New York Court of Appeals decided that hearsay evidence taken by an academic tribunal on an alleged sexual assault at the State University of New York at Potsdam was substantial evidence in lieu of the accuser’s testimony…The accuser reported the alleged sexual assault to campus police, but she did not attend the campus Title IX hearing. At the hearing, the accuser’s testimony was given on her behalf by a police officer and a college official who took down her account of the assault… The judges wrote in an unsigned memorandum that SUNY Potsdam had sufficient evidence to find that the assailant, a male student, had violated its code of conduct. But the court stopped short of saying he should have been expelled. The judges’ decision on evidentiary grounds, however, lets stand the university’s decision to expel the student. Lloyd Grandy, who represented the male student, called the decision “unfortunate” because the case asked the court to weigh much larger issues of sexual assault and due process. “The decision came down on a very narrow point of law and it’s unfortunate that it’s turned out this way because the case itself deals with such a broad problem and such a serious issue,” Grandy said. “It really is unfortunate that it’s come down to this very small question about whether or not some hearsay evidence was enough to carry the day.” Grandy pointed to recent decisions from federal courts that suggested students accused of sexual assault must have the opportunity to cross-examine their accusers. That did not happen in this particular case.
law.com By Dan M. Clark
