Using Title IX as the excuse, the politically correct crowd has been trampling all over student’s rights and the Constitution. The article below takes the stand that rape allegations against fellow students can best be handled at the college student justice level https://www.thecollegefixthe Constitution has to Go.
If a criminal act is reported to law enforcement, then the police will swing into action. They will gather evidence, interview witnesses, and report their findings to the District Attorney. If the District Attorney determines that there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, then a warrant will be issued for the offender.
The police will arrest the offender and bring him before a judge. The judge will ensure that the offender understands his rights, is on the road to obtaining counsel and set bail.
Eventually, a trial will be held, and the State will be required to prove each element of the allegation against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury selected at random from the community.
That’s the way it works for every crime in every jurisdiction in the United States. But that isn’t good enough for the politically correct college crowd.
According to the article, they object to several of the features, or in their view bugs, such as:
- Bedrock American jurisprudence, “The presumption of innocence until proven guilty.” If a college tribunal accepts charges, then this presumption is a barrier to justice.
- The requirement that evidence is presented and scrutinized by both sides.
- The right of the accused to confront his accuser.
- The right of the accused to be represented by counsel.
- A defendant may not be able to challenge his accuser.
The first line of defense that schools use is that they are private institutions and things such as a student conduct code represent a contract between the student and the institution. Therefore the student signs off on having his rights routinely violated.
That may work to the extent that non-criminal student conduct is of no interest to the state. However, most states require that certain offenses must be reported and failure to do so is a violation in and of itself.
Then the schools fall back on the institution’s police force. Some are private security and have no law enforcement status. Some campus police forces are law enforcement agencies and staffed by peace officers. This may cover them on the reporting requirements.
The fly in the ointment, as I see it, is that colleges that are sucked up tight to the Title IX teat lost their status as private institutions. Case law sets out criteria where a private institution accepting Title IX funds becomes an agent of the government. If the college is acting as an agent of the government, then student conduct and the Kangaroo Courts that make these actions possible are a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Campus police forces, with licensed peace officers and access to the criminal justice system, are government agents.
Whisper 1983/1984 action in the ear of a college bureaucrat and watch the puddle of pee puddle under their chair.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983
https://www.justice.gov/crt/deprivation-rights-under-color-law
Several attorneys have made threats in this direction. The result has been the same. The school drops charges, makes a payout and sweeps teh whole thing under the rug.