A recent Title IX case involving a law school professor's alleged sexual misconduct has made waves when the professor voluntarily resigned from his post. The case highlights the often very personal nature of Title IX allegations and emphasizes how defending one's interests can mean very different things to different people.

Law Professor Accused of Sexual Misconduct Resigns

The incident involves Ian Samuel, a law professor at the University of Indiana, who was accused of sexual misconduct in violation of Title IX sometime late last year. Because the details and nature of the Title IX allegation have been under seal, all that is known is that Mr. Samuel was relieved of his teaching duties and told to stay away from campus in November.

A spokesperson for Indiana University said that the Title IX investigation wrapped up on May 1, 2019, but refused to say what the investigation found.

On May 10, though Mr. Samuel announced on Twitter that he would be resigning his post at the Indiana University School of Law.

The response was very different from the usual one that faculty members make to Title IX allegations. Faculty, far more than students, tend to vigorously challenge the initial complaint and make use of their right to appeal an adverse outcome at the Title IX hearing.

Mr. Samuels, however, realized that his course in life was going in a different direction, anyway: “The truth is that the university's investigation, in addition to doing justice, probably had the side effect of saving my life,” he wrote in the resignation letter that he posted on Twitter. “I was becoming an ugly man, and I needed nothing so much as a clean mirror and someone brave enough to make me look at it.”

The idea that the person who filed the Title IX complaint was worried about seeing him around the law school “makes so much sense to me that I can't see any honest basis for prolonging this process any further.” He added that “sin requires punishment. Part of mine is that I'll no longer be on the faculty at Indiana University, and I cannot call that result unjust.”

There is No One-Size-Fits-All Defense

One of the things that Mr. Samuel's case draws out is how people who have been accused of Title IX violations for sexual misconduct can have widely divergent interests. While many faculty members, especially those who have been tenured, will fight to the end to keep their position at their school, Mr. Samuel realized that his life had taken a different path and that defending the allegations against him might not be worth the time and effort.

Title IX Defense Lawyer and Advisor Joseph D. Lento

Planning and executing a Title IX defense case is not easy. While some cases call for a vigorous defense, in others, the interests of the accused are radically different. Pursuing those interests, whatever they may be, is something that a national Title IX advisor and defense lawyer like Joseph D. Lento can help to do. Call his law office at (888) 535-3686 or contact him online.