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

