If you're a student that attends a Texas college or university and you're facing a Title IX hearing, it's important to take necessary steps as early as possible in advance of the hearing itself. At a point in time during the course of the Title IX case, your school will prepare an investigation report. Prior to it being finalized, it's important that the report be responded to as strongly and as comprehensively as possible. For example, relevant text messages, social media posts, pictures, videos, phone logs, witness statements, a forensic evaluation, polygraph examination, the toxicology report if consent is an issue. All relevant information, documentation and evidence needs to be incorporated into the final report and it needs to be as strong as possible.
The reason it needs to be as strong as possible because it will be presented, once finalized, to the hearing panel. The hearing panel will review the report and will have a strong sense of the case before the hearing even takes place. Attacking the accuser's credibility is key. Questions would have to be prepared for the accuser and the accuser's witnesses. An opening and closing statement would have to be prepared. The potential pitfalls and missteps that can take place during a Title IX hearing, an accused would have to be prepared accordingly to bear that in mind. The hearing panel would have to be considered for potential bias or conflict. An experienced attorney adviser can help an accused student throughout the process, but especially at a Title IX hearing in Texas.
