If you've been accused by your college or high school of committing sexual misconduct, you're probably feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. That's understandable. Title IX, the law that will be used to decide your case, is a complex law and can be difficult to navigate. Your case may hinge on any number of delicate issues, from how your school defines “consent” to how you phrase questions to your accuser at your hearing. You're a student (or a parent), not an attorney. It's time to admit you need help.
Luckily, current Title IX guidelines allow you to choose an advisor to guide you through the entire process, someone to represent you and to help you prepare your defense strategy. Even better, this advisor can be an attorney. So, take the time to learn all you can about what you're up against. You need to be as prepared as you can be. Take the time as well, though, to learn how to choose the right advisor.
How Title IX Works
High schools and universities deal with most of their sexual misconduct cases using Title IX, a federal law passed in 1972 that aimed at eliminating sexual discrimination in American education. The law includes strict guidelines about how schools can investigate and adjudicate such cases. Here are the basics:
- All schools must appoint a Title IX Coordinator to deal with accusations. Anyone on campus can report sexual misconduct, but only a complainant or the Title IX Coordinator themselves may sign an official complaint against you.
- Once a Coordinator has signed a complaint, they must provide you with written “notice” of the charges. That notice should identify the complainant and provide details about the allegation. In addition, it should advise you that you will be presumed “not responsible” until you are proven responsible. Furthermore, you have the right to an advisor, who may be an attorney.
- The Coordinator appoints an Investigator to pursue the case. This Investigator should separately interview both you and the complainant. They will also collect physical evidence and take testimony from witnesses. Your advisor can accompany you to any and all meetings and can make sure the Investigator takes account of evidence in your favor.
- At the conclusion of the investigation, the Investigator is tasked with completing a full report summarizing their findings. You and the complainant both have ten days to raise objections about anything in the report you disagree with. Your advisor can help you formulate these objections.
- Once the Coordinator receives the final report, they must assign a Decision Maker to determine your level of responsibility. Colleges must hold live hearings where both sides are allowed to present evidence and question witnesses. High schools may provide hearings, but they are not required to under Title IX. Instead, a single Decision Maker may examine evidence and render a decision.
- At the hearing itself, advisors represent their clients. Only advisors, for instance, may cross-examine witnesses.
- Once the hearing is complete, Decision Makers deliberate and issue a finding based on the “preponderance of evidence” standard. According to this standard, they must find you responsible if they believe it is “more likely than not” that you committed a violation.
- Finally, both you and the complainant have the right to appeal the Decision Makers' ruling. There will be a strict deadline for when you may file your appeal. In addition, appeals are usually only granted for very specific reasons:
- The discovery of new evidence
- Procedural mistakes
- Clear bias on the part of a Title IX official
Here again, a good advisor can be invaluable in helping you formulate your appeal.
Choosing an Advisor
Some students and parents choose to hire a local or family attorney to represent them during Title IX investigations. They may see the situation as a minor legal matter or believe they're better off using someone they're comfortable with, someone who already knows them. That's a mistake.
Title IX is serious business. Your entire future is at stake. The minimum sanction you can expect if you're found responsible is suspension. In most cases, responsible students are expelled.
More importantly, Title IX is a federal law. You need someone who understands its subtleties, who is familiar with its history, who recognizes that it is deeply influenced by national politics. You need a Title IX attorney.
Title IX attorneys focus specifically on Title IX cases. They understand the law and its many idiosyncrasies. They also understand that these cases don't happen in courtrooms. They happen on campus, in dingy seminar rooms in the basements of student unions. They're just as comfortable talking to faculty and administrators as they are talking to detectives and judges.
When you're looking for an advisor, then you need to look, not for someone who knows your state and local laws, but for someone who is skilled and experienced with Title IX cases. Ask questions:
- Ask them how many clients they've defended from Title IX charges
- Ask about their record of success
- Ask if they have a strategy that is tailored to your specific situation
Only when you know the answers to these questions can you make an informed decision.
Joseph D. Lento, Title IX Attorney
Attorney Joseph D. Lento built his career defending students across the United States from Title IX charges. He's represented hundreds of students, helping them deal with all kinds of accusations, from simple verbal harassment to stalking to dating violence to rape. He's a true Title IX attorney.
That doesn't mean, though, that you'll be treated like just another case. Attorney Joseph D. Lento provides personalized attention for all his clients. He's empathetic to what you're going through. He understands that in the current political climate, schools are far too quick to accuse students and far too severe in the punishments they dole out. He's on a mission to stop them. He believes in your cause, and he's ready to do battle on your behalf.
If you or your child has been accused of Title IX sexual misconduct in Illinois, don't wait. You need help now. Contact the Lento Law Firm's Illinois office today at 888-555-3686 or use our automated online form.
Illinois colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your or your student's Title IX advisor during investigations, hearings, and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
- American Academy of Art
- American InterContinental University Online
- Argosy University Chicago
- Argosy University Schaumburg
- Augustana College
- Aurora University
- Benedictine University
- Black Hawk College
- Blackburn College
- Bradley University
- Carl Sandburg College
- Chamberlain College of Nursing Illinois
- Chicago State University
- Christian Life College
- City Colleges of Chicago Harold Washington College
- City Colleges of Chicago Harry S Truman College
- City Colleges of Chicago Kennedy King College
- City Colleges of Chicago Malcolm X College
- City Colleges of Chicago Olive Harvey College
- City Colleges of Chicago Richard J Daley College
- City Colleges of Chicago Wilbur Wright College
- College of DuPage
- College of Lake County
- Columbia College Chicago
- Concordia University Chicago
- Danville Area Community College
- DePaul University
- DeVry University Illinois
- Dominican University
- East West University
- Eastern Illinois University
- Elgin Community College
- Elmhurst College
- Eureka College
- Fox College Inc .
- Greenville College
- Harper College
- Harrington College of Design
- Heartland Community College
- Hebrew Theological College
- Highland Community College
- Illinois Central College
- Illinois College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Frontier Community College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Lincoln Trail College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Olney Central College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Wabash Valley College
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois State University
- Illinois Valley Community College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- International Academy of Design and Technology Chicago
- ITT Technical Institute Mount Prospect
- ITT Technical Institute Oak Brook
- ITT Technical Institute Orland Park
- John A Logan College
- John Wood Community
- Joliet Junior College
- Judson University
- Kankakee Community College
- Kaskaskia College
- Kendall College
- Kishwaukee College
- Knox College
- Lake Forest College
- Lake Land College
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Chicago
- Lewis and Clark Community College
- Lewis University
- Lexington College
- Lincoln Christian University
- Lincoln College
- Lincoln Land Community College
- Loyola University Chicago
- MacCormac College
- MacMurray College
- McHenry County College
- McKendree University
- Methodist College of Nursing
- Midstate College
- Millikin University
- Monmouth College
- Moody Bible Institute
- Moraine Valley Community College
- Morrison Institute of Technology
- Morton College
- National Louis University
- North Central College
- North Park University
- Northeastern Illinois University
- Northern Illinois University
- Northwestern College
- Northwestern College Southwestern Campus
- Northwestern University
- Oakton Community College
- Olivet Nazarene University
- Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Chicago
- Parkland College
- Prairie State College
- Quincy University
- Rend Lake College
- Richland Community College
- Robert Morris University Illinois
- Rock Valley College
- Rockford Career College
- Rockford College
- Roosevelt University
- Saint Augustine College
- Saint Xavier University
- Sanford Brown College Collinsville
- Sanford Brown College Hillside
- Sauk Valley Community College
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Shawnee Community College
- Shimer College
- South Suburban College
- Southeastern Illinois College
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Spoon River College
- Taylor Business Institute
- Telshe Yeshiva Chicago
- The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago
- The Illinois Institute of Art Schaumburg
- Trinity Christian College
- Trinity College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Trinity International University
- Triton College
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Illinois at Springfield
- University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
- University of Phoenix Chicago Campus
- University of St Francis
- VanderCook College of Music
- Vatterott College Quincy
- Waubonsee Community College
- Western Illinois University
- Westwood College Chicago Loop
- Westwood College Dupage
- Westwood College O'Hare Airport
- Westwood College River Oaks
- Wheaton College
Title IX violations and Title IX charges can change an accused student's life if not defended against properly and as early as possible during the disciplinary process, and Joseph D. Lento has nearly a decade of experience passionately fighting for the future of his clients at universities and colleges throughout the nation. He does not settle for the easiest outcome, and instead, prioritizes his clients' needs and well-being. Joseph Lento is a licensed attorney in New York and New Jersey, is admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in state and federal court if needed when representing clients nationwide, and serves as a Title IX advisor and educational consultant to students facing disciplinary cases in Illinois and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
