RULING For The Innocent Little Guy. A David & Goliath Story. Judge Slams UMich Policy Over Lack Of Due Process
When you can make sexual assault allegations with no possibility of being challenged, why wouldn’t you? After a stinging court ruling last month that ordered the University of Michigan to allow cross-examination and a “live hearing,” the female who accused John Doe of sexual misconduct has dropped out rather than face scrutiny.
UMich had appealed the district court ruling to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shortly after it came down. Deborah Gordon, the accused student’s lawyer, told the 6th Circuit in a filing recently that the appeal was moot because UMich was dropping the Title IX proceeding. “This case should never have been necessary,” Gordon said, noting that UMich’s Title IX policy was found to be in violation of pre-existing 6th Circuit precedent.
Gordon accused the university of sowing “chaos” by suddenly scheduling a hearing in Doe’s case for April 22, right before a week of final exams started. He had already relocated to California following the COVID-19 closure of campus, and both parties were set to graduate in May. UMich pushed back when he asked for rescheduling after exams, making “several false representations” as to why it couldn’t postpone the hearing, Gordon claimed.
A day ahead of a court hearing on John’s emergency motion to postpone his Title IX proceeding, UMich “revealed the true reason” for the rush: It wanted to hold his degree. Less than an hour before its brief was due with the court, UMich’s Title IX coordinator emailed Gordon to notify her the proceeding would be “permanently closed.” John’s accuser informed the university that she “no longer wants to proceed or participate in the investigative resolution process.” Gordon disputed that the hearing depended on the accuser’s participation, which is not required by university policy: “It was solely the decision of the University – not the student– to close the entire process with no finding.”
Gordon told the 6th Circuit that public records requests show the university has spent $1.2 million so far on lawyers just in this case, which is nearly twice as much as it had spent as of last summer. Brooklyn College Prof. KC Johnson, who chronicles Title IX litigation, speculated that the university was appealing in spite of the canceled proceeding so it wouldn’t have to pay Gordon attorney’s fees.
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