Some colleges do not provide the right to an attorney for men accused of sexual misconduct.
In the wake of public outcry against an “epidemic” of sexual misconduct on college campuses, many schools seem to be under tremendous pressure to punish offenders—typically young men—swiftly and severely, in some cases without regard for their legal rights. Now, more and more young men are fighting back in court against the schools that expelled them.
While a college hearing is obviously not the same as a criminal proceeding, nonetheless there are significant penalties at stake. Being expelled in the midst of a promising college career can derail a student’s entire future. Many people believe that the current hearing processes are unfair and inherently prejudiced against men. Here are some of the key points that critics of college hearing processes have pointed out as particularly worrisome for the rights of the accused:
Lack of right to an attorney—On many college campuses, there is no provision for an individual accused of sexual assault to consult with an attorney for his defense.
Inability to question their accusers—Again, many campuses do not permit accused individuals to confront their accusers. While this may designed to protect accusers from being frightened or coerced into dropping the complaint, in practice it can prevent a full and fair investigation.
Lower standard of evidence—In order to find a student guilty of sexual misconduct, schools must only determine that there is a “preponderance of evidence” that something untoward occurred. This is a significant change from the “clear and convincing evidence” that many campuses had been using for their standard, prior to a 2011 federal directive that instructed them to switch to a lower standard.
Double jeopardy—The 2011 federal directive also gave both parties the right to appeal a decision. In effect, this provision results in double jeopardy for the accused, because they can potentially be found guilty after being cleared once.
In some cases, a case of sexual misconduct or date rape on a college campus may also result in criminal charges. The good news is that the legal rights of the accused receive much stronger protections in the criminal justice system than in the college hearing process. However, there are of course much more severe penalties at stake. If you or a loved one has been accused of sexual misconduct and you fear a criminal case could result, contact a skilled criminal defense attorney such as Dan E. Chambers immediately. He can begin securing evidence to build your case immediately as well as ensure that due process errors such as those that infest college hearings do not affect your criminal case.
