Under Title IX, colleges have an obligation to address sexual assault on campus.
Colleges have a corresponding obligation to treat all students fairly. Unfortunately, many colleges have created secret sex tribunals that stack the deck against accused students in order to increase discipline rates.
The tribunals often dispense with the presumption of innocence; deny students the right to see the specific charges or evidence against them; and deny accused students the opportunity to present evidence that might demonstrate consent, such as text messages.
Such procedures violate basic standards of fairness and have led to many miscarriages of justice.
Hundreds of students have successfully sued their colleges for unfair treatment.
But few colleges have altered their policies in response to such rulings.
It’s time for the Department of Education to issue regulations requiring schools to adopt fair and unbiased procedures.
Because without due process, there can be no justice.