One of the serious subjects discussed on RSS from time to time is whether the "in-house" investigations of allegations of sexual assault and subsequent disciplinary proceedings have infringed or violated the rights of accused students, faculty members, or university employees. Here is new and important scholarship on the subject by the American College of Trial Lawyers, the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in America.
The chair of the task force that did this work for ACTL is Pamela Mackey, the Colorado lawyer who represented Kobe Bryant against rape charges in 2003 in Eagle, Co. I say that not to trigger a discussion about Bryant or that incident but to give credence to the qualifications of the members of the task force. The task force included lawyers who specialized in criminal defense, prosecutors, and lawyers who defend and prosecute in civil cases. In other words, the task force was drawn from all constituencies.
It is clear that sexual assault has become a serious issue on campuses all across the country. As with most hot button issues, the rush to address it results in some over-reaching. We members of RSS get interested in all of this because the over-reaching tends to land at the foot of a student-athlete, usually a male student-athlete, and usually one participating in a high profile sport. I am sure that most of us remember the strange and somewhat mysterious way that Avery Moss' stay at UNL ended.
ACTL has attempted to identify the excesses and to recommend solutions. The quality of this work is quite high, in my opinion. I commend the white paper to you for your consideration. I hope that the administration at UNL considers it, as well.
The link takes you to the ACTL press release about the white paper generated by the task force. You can download the white paper itself by clicking on the PDF link at the top of the press release.
https://www.actl.com/library/press-...l-assault-investigations-provide-fairness-all
The chair of the task force that did this work for ACTL is Pamela Mackey, the Colorado lawyer who represented Kobe Bryant against rape charges in 2003 in Eagle, Co. I say that not to trigger a discussion about Bryant or that incident but to give credence to the qualifications of the members of the task force. The task force included lawyers who specialized in criminal defense, prosecutors, and lawyers who defend and prosecute in civil cases. In other words, the task force was drawn from all constituencies.
It is clear that sexual assault has become a serious issue on campuses all across the country. As with most hot button issues, the rush to address it results in some over-reaching. We members of RSS get interested in all of this because the over-reaching tends to land at the foot of a student-athlete, usually a male student-athlete, and usually one participating in a high profile sport. I am sure that most of us remember the strange and somewhat mysterious way that Avery Moss' stay at UNL ended.
ACTL has attempted to identify the excesses and to recommend solutions. The quality of this work is quite high, in my opinion. I commend the white paper to you for your consideration. I hope that the administration at UNL considers it, as well.
The link takes you to the ACTL press release about the white paper generated by the task force. You can download the white paper itself by clicking on the PDF link at the top of the press release.
https://www.actl.com/library/press-...l-assault-investigations-provide-fairness-all
