WASHINGTON / April 24, 2013 – Three articles sharply critical of the handling of sex assault cases by campus disciplinary committees were published this past week. The critiques suggest college administrators may need to re-evaluate whether federally mandated sex assault panels are rendering a disservice to victims, to the accused, and to the principle of justice itself, according to Stop Abusive and Violent Environments.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal on April 16, Judith Grossman describes the experience of her son, a student at a New England liberal-arts college (1). The panel’s hearing consisted of a “two-hour ordeal of unabated grilling” during which he was “expressly denied his request to be represented by counsel.” Grossman, a lawyer and self-described feminist, charges the student courts have “obliterated the presumption of innocence that is so foundational to our traditions of justice.” Full Article