According to a court opinion
filed Monday, a federal judge
ruled professors undergoing
trial
for
accusations
of
misconduct have the right to
cross-examine
accusers
—
particularly if defendants face
serious disciplinary actions.
In September, the U.S. Court
of Appeals ruled in Doe v.
Baum that universities “must
give the accused student or his
agent an opportunity to cross-
examine the accuser” in cases
of sexual assault investigations.
According to the court opinion,
the University of Michigan
failed to comply with the
holding that accused students
have the opportunity to cross-
examine their accuser when
credibility
is
in
question.
The ruling has widespread
ramifications for the student
sexual
misconduct
policy
and hearing processes. Now,
faculty and staff misconduct is
under the spotlight.
“Plaintiff
has
adequately
pled that the University violated
her Fourteenth Amendment
rights by sanctioning her under
SPG 201.96,” the court opinion
reads.
The defendant in the case is
Prof. Pamela Smock, who faced
charges of sexual harassment
from three graduate students,
but was cleared of Title IX
violations in December 2016.
She was reported as conducting
“inappropriate behavior,” and
LSA Dean Andrew Martin
stated he found this report
“troubling”
before
freezing
Smock’s salary, removing her
sabbatical and disabling her
role as an advisor to doctoral
students for three years.
David Nacht, counsel for
Smock, stated while Doe v.
Baum
applies
to
students,
this ruling on faculty’s right
to
cross-examine
accusers
extends
the
previous
case
precedent.
“Doe v. Baum was, in
fact, a student case, but
the logic of the opinion
doesn’t necessarily limit
itself to that, and so the
judge was guided by that
precedent in making his
decision,”
Nacht
said.
“Why should a freshman
in college have more due
process rights if they’re
facing
suspension,
for
instance, than a tenured
professor who is accused
of the same conduct, or
similar conduct? It is not
as if the professor has less
at stake, so I think there’s
an inherent logic to the
court’s decision.”
A press release from
Nacht argues the opinion
from the federal court
also applies to professors
accused of bullying under
SPG 201.96, which is the
University’s anti-bullying
rule
for
professors,
and
discrimination
or
harassment.
In
Smock’s case, the press
release states she was
not
given
the
names
of her accusers nor was she
allowed to question them.
The court opinion maintains,
however, Smock did not make
an
adequate
constitutional
challenge to SPG 201.96, nor
did she adequately plead that
her
“sanctions
constituted
retaliation against her exercise
of protected speech.”
Nacht voiced his support
for the recent ruling, stating
individuals should be given
the right to cross-examine
accusers.
“I think generally we’re
having a very un-nuanced
debate in this country about
investigations and accusations
…
When
you
empower
investigators to make decisions
that have the power to destroy
someone’s
reputation
and
you deprive the person being
accused of fundamental rights
to challenge the accuser, then
you inevitably result in some
people who are accused and
innocent being found guilty,”
Nacht said. “We’ve known for
a long time how important
cross-examination is. It is
not progressive or liberal or
decent to prevent people who
are accused from defending
themselves.”
CHANGING ME DIA APPROACHES
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: HUNDREDS ATTEND ASSEMBLY TEACH-IN ON
DEPUTIZATION, ACTIVISM
By Jon Casden
Students who spent last week
shouting “No Guns, No Cops, No
Code,” quelled their chants to speak
on the issue of campus deputization
yesterday at a Michigan Student
Assembly-sponsored teach-in.
Event organizers estimated more
than 1,000 people attended the
teach-in held during the day at the
Michigan Union.
Faculty and student speakers
addressed deputization as well as
the installation of a non-academic
code of conduct, and the conflict in
the Persian Gulf.
The largest crowd of the day
was drawn by Michigan Student
Assembly
representative
and
Student Rights Committee Chair
Corey Dolgon, who discussed the
deputization issue in front of an
estimated 350 people.
Dolgon emphasized the need
for the administration to listen to
students’ concerns and to put funds
into improving safety in other ways
on campus.
Students and speakers at the
teach-in
encouraged
people
to become involved with the
movement and to press for student
input into other decisions at the
University.
“Our goals have broadened, now
we believe that every student group
that has demands has the right to
negotiate those demands with the
University,” said Carl Burns, LSA
senior.
Smaller
seminars
informed
students about the development
of social movements, and how
they related to the current state
of activism. Another discussion
focused on student apathy.
The
teach-in
also
featured
discussions on homeless people and
their relationships with police, on
women and police and on how the
University administration operates.
“I was never really previously
concerned with the student rights
movement,” said LSA first-year-
student Pete Kroll. “I’m here to get
more informed. I read a lot and hear
a lot (about deputization), but until
I’m informed, I can’t get involved.”
LSA sophomore Lisa Yanoff had
similar reasons for attending.
“As far as student rights is
concerned,
I
have
not
done
anything and I wanted to come here
to see what was going on. Now, I’m
definitely for (the anti-deputization
movement),” Yanoff said.
2A — Wednesday, November 21, 2018
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Court rules faculty can cross-examine
accuser in sexual misconduct cases
JORDYN BAKER
Daily News Reporter
I think generally
we’re having a
very un-nuanced
debate in this
country about
investigations
Court of Appeals ruling follows suit on Doe vs. Baum case from September