This news is actually from Tuesday, but we certainly haven’t seen it covered anywhere else outside of a few tweets that scrolled past us today.
We do hope that Chris “Captain America” Evans is reading, since he was so enraged by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos trying to reform campus handling of sexual assault cases that he tweeted sarcastically, “It was getting way too easy for victims of sexual assault to navigate their horrific situation. Way to go, Betsy.”
Actually, she was trying to do away with kangaroo courts that end up in situations just like this one.
In short, a male student at the University of California Santa Barbara had been accused of rape and suspended by the university. The courts, however, have reversed that suspension, citing a total lack of due process that did no favors to either the accuser or the accused.
California appellate court reverses @UCSantaBarbara student's suspension for sexual misconduct, writing: "Noticeably absent was even a semblance of due process." https://t.co/93VnraveDA pic.twitter.com/HSAWsp7PRb
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) October 9, 2018
Look at that: the court ruled that “credibility cannot be properly decided until the accused is given the opportunity to adequately respond to the accusation.” Huh … remember how one of Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyer’s demands was that Brett Kavanaugh, the accused, would testify first? And he wouldn’t be allowed to face his accuser?
Anyway, back to UCSB:
Just in: blistering, from Cal. appellate court, overturns lower court in @ucsantabarbara due process case: "It is ironic that an institution of higher learning, where American history and government are taught, should stray so far from the principles that underlie our democracy."
— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) October 9, 2018
Unanimous decision from 3-judge panel notes that absence of due process harmed both the acc'd and the accuser: "Notably absent was even a semblance of due process." pic.twitter.com/He08nWFA1K
— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) October 9, 2018
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And look at that: “Due process — two preeminent words that are the lifeblood of our Constitution.” It’s hard to believe this was written in California.
A detailed look at the case can be found at the blog Academic Wonderland. Here are some excerpts:
Even in the annals of bizarre campus due process cases, this one was strange. In 2016, the accuser—who had consumed alcohol despite taking an anti-depressant, Vibryd, that discouraged alcohol use—claimed that she was violently sexually assaulted at a party. Her allegation was of a brutal rape, in which the attacker also photographed her during the assault. Yet two other students—including her best friend—were seated three feet away from her during the alleged assault, and told the hearing panel they saw nothing. A critical piece of evidence—the name of the anti-depressant—was provided to the accused student shortly before the hearing (the night before, according to his lawyer; a few days before, according to the university).
…
The accused student was found guilty, largely on grounds of the emotional trauma of the accuser, who dropped out of school and went to counseling after the alleged assault. The hearing panel said that, given the layout of the dorm room, it was possible for a violent assault to have occurred without the two other students, three feet away, noticing it. The panel dismissed results of a lie detector test, which the accused student passed, on grounds that he was drunk on the night of the incident and therefore his memory was unreliable. An appeal—to UCSB Margaret Klawunn, a figure well-known from various lawsuits against Brown dating from her time there—was denied.
Huh … the panel dismissed the lie detector results because the student was drunk and probably couldn’t remember the sexual assault. Why does this sound so familiar?
TIX tribunal denies acc'd student access to the key evidence used against him: rape-kit report.
Court is stunned: "The accused must be permitted to see the evidence against him. Need we say more?" pic.twitter.com/Auy2KPCNP1
— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) October 9, 2018
The searing conclusion. Full ruling at link: https://t.co/vaMdDXKv92 pic.twitter.com/AgsHkNHhLs
— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) October 9, 2018
So maybe DeVos isn’t trying to make it harder for sexual assault victims on campus to find justice after all.
What is the executive summary of the story here? (For those of us getting this as a retweet and otherwise out of the loop)
— Scott Cale (@scottcale) October 9, 2018
A girl accused a student of sexually assaulting her. There were other people in the room three feet away that said it didn't happen. The accuser was drunk and taking a psych med that causes hallucinations when mixed with alcohol. School withheld due process and expelled accused.
— Ben Denny (@BenDenny) October 9, 2018
I was shocked — albeit pleasantly — that the accused was permitted to cross-examine the accuser. I never had that luxury.
— Winsome Pickett (@The_SergeMG) October 10, 2018
Warms the heart to read this opinion. While well meaning, Title IX has been disastrous for students and their rights.
— Patsy West (@Genie4Fun) October 10, 2018
And people wonder where millennials got the idea that due process wasn’t important?
— commonsense (@commonsense258) October 10, 2018
I voted for the guy BTW, but we can thank Obama for this Title IX morass
— john xenakis (@johnny17x) October 10, 2018
Colleges practically stampeded to adopt the Dept. of Ed. Title IX procedures. The reason? Fear of losing Federal aid. I stood up and said, “but due process…” The response? “We will lose millions.” End of discussion.
— thomas x. carroll (@txcarroll) October 10, 2018
Related:
Campus panel that suspended student over alleged sexual assault deemed 'unfair' by judge http://t.co/vxGv1XWtIZ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 14, 2015
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