WIN! Federal Appellate Court Rules that Denying Cross-Examination Violates Due Process
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued the strongest judicial opinion to date in support of the right to cross-examination in campus judicial proceedings that turn on credibility. “If a public university has to choose between competing narratives to resolve a case, the university must give the accused student or his agent an opportunity to cross-examine the accuser and adverse witnesses in the presence of a neutral fact-finder. Because the University of Michigan failed to comply with this rule, we reverse.” The decision is also remarkable for its support for allowing students the active participation of an advisor, which would provide effective cross-examination while avoiding the potential problems with having the parties personally cross-examine one another in sexual misconduct proceedings. In today’s ruling in Doe v. Baum, the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of an accused student’s due process lawsuit…In this case, like so many others, two University of Michigan students (John Doe & Jane Roe) had attended a fraternity party, drank, danced and then had sex….What really makes this decision unique, beyond its particularly strong language on cross-examination, is its implicit endorsement of the importance of allowing students the active participation of an advisor — a right that very few schools currently provide.. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is making a name for itself as a defender of due process.
thefire.org By Harris reason.com By Soave detroitnews.com By Jacques
