It isn’t a shift from civil to criminal. Rape has long been established - by the courts, not Department of Ed - to be a form of sexual harassment. DoE has been trying for twenty years to get schools to deal with the whole kit and kaboodle better. Finally they got frustrated and decided to force it.

Schools have LONG…

Your assumptions are incorrect, as Hoynes already pointed out. Universities can compel testimony with the threat of perjury (honor code). If DNA analysis is relevant (has Hoynes and I have both experienced, it almost never is because we don’t have cases where the identity of the alleged rapist is unknown nor do we…

What case has a plaintiff won on the grounds that the university should not have jurisdiction over the case at all? I follow this closely and haven’t seen any of that ilk. I’ve seen many failed TIX suits (courts don’t agree that just because more men rape than women the system is biased against men) and some (not that…

Hadriano “as an actual attorney I find your confidence in your ability to perform a through investigation disturbing.”

No, its like working at Taco Bell and having your boss rape you. Then in addition to whatever cops may do, you’d expect management to address your boss’s egregious misconduct. They don’t want one of their supervisors raping employees!

What about if someone is a thief? Schools prohibit students from stealing from others or the school. They address and adjudicate these matters themsleves, and don’t rely on police (who may or may not be addressing it). Are you ok with this (or the many other examples I could give)? If so, why is sexual assault…

Investigators, adjudicators, appeals officers, and everyone else intimately involved in campus response to sexual assault MUST BY LAW (statute, not OCR guidance) be trained. This is more than can be said for police or jurors, for example! (Police actually have extensive continuing education/training requirements, and…

Diana, one of the better pieces I have read on these topics. I’d add one point about why universities have processes to address reported assaults: they, like all sizable organizations (corporations, governmental agencies) have internal procedures to address reports of discrimination and harassment. This is good…