Sexual assault claims on college campuses are some of the most contentious and difficult types of misconduct claims that schools have to deal with. A set of federal laws known as Title IX imposes requirements for how schools are to respond when a student claims they were the victim of a sexual assault by another student or a faculty or staff member, whether it occurred on or off campus. One focus of the Title IX laws and regulations is on protecting victims of sexual assault, which of course is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. But in cases where a student is unjustly accused of sexual assault, the Title IX laws and campus justice system do little to remedy the stress, anxiety, and loss of reputation that come with being accused of committing sexual assault.
The Defamation Lawsuit Response
If you have been unjustly accused of sexual assault or any other Title IX offense, such as stalking, relationship violence, sexual coercion, or inappropriate touching, you understand how stressful it can be to find yourself the target of your school's disciplinary process. In some cases, however, there is one very powerful way to help you protect your reputation: a defamation lawsuit against your school accuser.
Defamation is a civil case, not a criminal one. It starts by filing a lawsuit against someone who has made false statements of fact about you to other people, knowing that the statements were wrong, and those false statements damaged your reputation. In some cases, an accuser who files a false claim with your school that you committed a Title IX violation against them can be sued for defamation.
Deciding whether to file a defamation lawsuit is not something you should take lightly. You need the help of an experienced student defense team, one who understands the Title IX disciplinary process, and who also knows what civil remedies – such as a defamation lawsuit—you can use to recover your good name when you've been unfairly, unreasonably, and unjustly accused. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you in these kinds of situations. Our attorneys have years of experience helping wrongly-accused students recover and keep their reputations, and achieve justice against their false accusers. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or contact us online.
How the Title IX System Works at Colleges and Universities
Title IX is a federal law that impacts how colleges and universities that accept federal funding – meaning virtually every college or university in the US – treat their students, regardless of gender. The law has spawned multiple regulations that schools must pay attention to if they are to comply with it. Some of these regulations are in the form of guidelines schools must follow in responding to sexual assault and other types of Title IX allegations by students against other students, faculty members, or school staff.
Each college or university has a Title IX coordinator, someone who is designated to accept student claims about Title IX violations. When a complaint is filed and accepted by the Title IX coordinator, both the student who made the allegation and the person accused of the violation will be notified that the school has accepted the complaint, and that each side has certain rights in connection with the school's investigation of the complaint.
While there is supposedly a presumption of innocence that applies in Title IX cases, if you have been accused of sexual assault or some other Title IX violation, it may not feel as though that's the case. The investigation of a Title IX claim can feel very invasive, and can include you and others who may have information about the incident being interviewed by a school-appointed investigator. You might even be asked to leave campus housing during the investigation, attend classes remotely or by way of correspondence, or even be suspended during the course of the investigation and disciplinary process.
When the investigation is complete, you may be presented with formal charges based on information that was included in the complaint as well as additional information gathered during the investigation process. In some cases, you may also be presented with the opportunity to consent to some sort of punishment based on your acceptance of certain facts as true. If you refuse this offer, or if no offer is made, your case will likely proceed to a hearing.
School Title IX hearings may seem actual court proceedings, but they are different in a number of key areas. For one, the standards for accepting evidence are considerably looser, meaning that evidence that a court would not consider because it does not satisfy legal evidentiary standards might still be accepted and considered by the school hearing panel. While witnesses may provide testimony, your right to cross-examine them may be limited. And, in the end, instead of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that applies in criminal cases, schools will use the “more likely than not” standard. This is a much lower standard; it means if the hearing panel believes that it is more likely that you committed the sexual assault (or other Title IX violation) than that you didn't commit it, you'll be found liable for the violation.
Problems With Resolving Title IX Allegations
As you can see, one of the main problems when it comes to how schools investigate and resolve Title IX claims is that the system is tilted against the accused. And while it is absolutely important for victims of actual Title IX violations to have their claims investigated and, where substantiated, for the violators to be disciplined, that should not outweigh the rights of those who have been wrongly accused.
Because schools have limited resources and are not necessarily equipped to mount thorough and fair investigations of Title IX claims, the risk is that it becomes easy for one student to effectively ruin the life of another by making a false Title IX claim against another. An incomplete investigation coupled with an unfair hearing process can easily result in the accused student having a permanent stain on their record or even being forced to leave the school. This is why, when you've been unjustly accused, it can feel as though your life has been turned upside down, even if at the end of the entire school investigation and hearing process you are ultimately exonerated.
The Difference Between a School Investigation and a Criminal Investigation
There are a number of significant differences between a criminal investigation and prosecution of a sexual assault complaint and a school's investigation and disciplinary proceeding of a Title IX complaint. These include:
- Investigation. The criminal investigation is likely to be more involved than the school's investigation. And in a criminal investigation, the accused or their attorney may have chances to provide the authorities with evidence showing that the alleged crime didn't happen or that the accused was not the one who committed it if it did. In the school context, you may not always be able to provide the investigator with your own evidence.
- Charges. Criminal charges need to meet stringent legal standards set by law and by hundreds of years of court decisions. School charges do not have to meet these standards, and can often be based on evidence that would never support charges in a criminal case.
- Trials vs Hearings. There are many legal standards and rules of evidence and procedure that criminal trials must follow, the majority of which have been put in place to protect the rights of the accused. School hearings lack most of these safeguards, which means that the process can unfairly result in a decision against the accused.
- Burden of Proof. As noted above, criminal trials must prove that the accused is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” School Title IX disciplinary proceedings, on the other hand, must only find that the accused was more likely to have committed the violation than not.
- Protection Against Lawsuits. Those who file criminal complaints with the police are, in almost all cases, protected from being sued by the people they are accusing. This is a legal protection put in place so that people who are genuine victims don't have to be concerned about being sued by the people they accuse of committing the crime. That doesn't mean there is no remedy if someone files a false complaint; the remedy is that they may be prosecuted for doing so.
But a school Title IX proceeding is not a criminal one. There aren't the same procedural protections in place for the accused, and the burden of proof is lower. In many states, that means that someone who files a false Title IX complaint against another person can be sued for defaming that person, if the accused files and wins a defamation suit against their accuser.
What to Do if You're Falsely Accused of a Title IX Violation
If you learn that you have been accused of a Title IX violation, and particularly where you believe that the allegation is false, the first thing you should do is talk with an experienced Title IX attorney. The Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm hasyears of experience helping students accused of Title IX violations. They understand how difficult this is for you, and can help you through the investigation and disciplinary process.
You'll need to defend yourself against the Title IX allegations. We can help with that, and can even conduct our own investigation into the allegations, to uncover the information that the school's investigator missed. That information can be offered in any hearing that the school holds, and may also be helpful in the event it becomes necessary to file a defamation lawsuit against your accuser.
If that's going to happen, it's important that any evidence you have has been gathered in a way that will allow it to be used in a civil defamation lawsuit, where the evidentiary standards are more strict than they are in the school Title IX proceeding.
How the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
The experienced student defense attorneys that make up the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have years of experience helping students accused of Title IX and other school-related types of misconduct. We understand how the Title IX investigation and disciplinary process works, and we have helped students all over the country defend themselves against serious charges involving Title IX claims and other types of misconduct. We will take much of the burden off of your shoulders during the investigation process and through any hearing that may follow.
We can also help you consider whether to bring a defamation claim against your false accuser. There are pros and cons to any lawsuit, and it's important to make sure you understand what those are before you file your complaint. Our attorneys have been through many lawsuits before, and we will help you understand what the process is going to be like, how long it will take, and what we believe the outcome is likely to be.
As a college student, you have your entire career before you. An unfounded Title IX allegation can make your life difficult for years to come, particularly if you've been unjustly accused. While filing a defamation claim against your accuser may seem to be a serious step to take – and it is – your reputation is also something that is important and needs to be protected. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you decide how to respond if you've been unjustly accused.
Don't delay – if you've received a notice from your school that a Title IX or other misconduct claim has been filed against you, call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or use our online contact form to set up a confidential consultation. We understand how difficult this is for you, and our experienced attorneys are here to listen and to help!
