RULING: Male Files to Pause TIX Investigation. But Federal Judge Says Princeton can Proceed
A student’s attempt to delay a Title IX investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct was rejected recently by a federal judge. The student had asked for a preliminary injunction at the end of November 2018, arguing that Princeton should pause the investigation until the Department of Education finalized rule changes to Title IX. Federal judge Michael A. Shipp decided that the student’s claims had not met the bar required to stop the investigation in an opinion dated January 9. According to Shipp, the proposed changes to Title IX regulation “are merely proposals and do not have the force of law,” and the plaintiff failed to prove that the present applications of the University’s Rights, Rules, Responsibilities (RRR) violates his due process rights.
Current Title IX policy requires the “preponderance of evidence standard” in sexual misconduct cases, which “requires a determination of guilt if the incident was more likely than not to have occurred.” The proposed rules, however, would allow institutions to choose between the preponderance standard or the “clear and convincing” standard in sexual misconduct cases. They may only impose the preponderance standard if the violations do not involve sexual harassment, but carry the same disciplinary consequences, and if that same standard is also applied to complaints against employees and faculty.
The plaintiff believed that if the University proceeded in its investigations before these proposed rules take effect, then he would be “be irreparably harmed.” Because of this, Doe requested a preliminary injunction to pause the Title IX investigation… But Judge Shepp wrote “Plaintiff failed to establish that he will suffer an immediate irreparable injury in the absence of the requested relief.”..There is some good news though, Shipp denied a motion by Princeton to dismiss all of the lawsuit, and three counts are still eligible to proceed.
dailyprincetonian By Z. Shevin universitypressclub By E. Sterenfeld
