Post
American university discipline processes vary from school to school. It gets complicated very fast.
And the process can be very unfair. You may not be allowed to see the complaint against you. You may not be allowed to question the witnesses. If you have a lawyer, the lawyer may not be allowed to speak. The administrators may refuse to speak to your lawyer. There may be many different meetings, each with different purposes.
It’s a terrible system.
/2
If you are being questioned in a university discipline matter, DO NOT ASSUME THAT THIS IS NOT ALSO A CRIMINAL MATTER. Many universities have policies of reporting any alleged crime (like regular old assault) to the police. So if you go into a disciplinary hearing and make statements about the allegations, that can absolutely get reported back to the police. But if you don’t respond, many (most) schools will hold that against you. It’s a Catch 22.
/3
You will need to consult with someone who knows both the university process and the local police. What is likely to get reported? Are the police likely to act on it? You’ll need to make informed, cost/benefit decisions. You aren’t likely to make good decisions on your own.
So STFU and call a lawyer. /4
Yes, I know university discipline has a reputation of protecting sexual abusers. That is not my experience. My experience is that about half of our clients have been LGBTQ+ people targeted because their identity makes other people uncomfortable.
Fairness benefits everyone. /5
As with every #STFUfriday post, I'm a lawyer in the USA. These comments are based on law in the USA. (And they apply to all people in the USA, whether or not they are citizens.) Some US states provide more protections than this.
/end
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