Title IX, First Amendment, Religious Universities, and Alleged Blackmail
In yesterday’s decision in Doe v. Dordt Univ., Judge C.J. Williams (N.D. Iowa) allowed much of Doe’s unfair-Title-IX-discipline claim to go forward; the decision is long, but here’s an excerpt to give the flavor of the dispute:
First, a reasonable jury could find that the undisputed evidence shows an articulable doubt as to the accuracy of proceeding’s outcome based on the finding of sexual assault. “Courts should not second guess the disciplinary decisions that school administrators make.” But Title IX precludes school administrators from rooting those disciplinary decisions in a gender-biased policies and procedures.
It is undisputed that A.D., a witness in Doe’s proceeding, told Dean Taylor that she had been “made aware of the fact that [S.S.],” another witness, “ha[d] been blackmailing [another witness] involved in the investigation” and asked to meet with Dean Taylor. Doe also shared with investigators, including Dean Taylor, that he thought S.S. had an agenda against him and had instructed J.B. not to speak with him.
Doe stated that J.B. told him that S.S. threatened to report J.B.’s marijuana use if he did not testify against Doe in the Title IX investigation. Dean Taylor was also aware that S.S. had convinced J.B. to participate in the investigation after he initially did not want to.
Nevertheless, based on the undisputed evidence, the allegations of blackmail were not prioritized. Dean Taylor did not appear concerned with the blackmail reports, though he stated that blackmail might mean an innocent respondent, and did not recall taking any further steps to investigate the blackmail issue after the meeting with A.D. Further, the information about Doe’s and A.D.’s disclosures were not included in the Investigative Summary or otherwise shared with the SLC for their consideration during deliberation. Additionally, because the investigators did not investigate the blackmail allegations and report their findings, Coordinator Wilson could not consider this information or mention it in his recommendations to the SLC.
Defendants argue that S.S.’s alleged blackmail was inconsequential to Doe’s investigation and proceedings because S.S. only wanted J.B. to tell the truth. Defendants also argue that S.S. wanted Doe to
Article from Reason.com
