Insights & News

If you or a loved one is facing an accusation of sexual misconduct pursuant to Title IX, then it’s reasonable to be concerned about the outcome — a Title IX case can lead to significant academic penalties (such as expulsion, suspension, and/or mandatory counseling) and if a guilty verdict is reached, then the accused student may be labeled as a sex offender, a stigma that could have a negative impact on their ability to integrate into normal society and even secure a thriving career into the future. Confused about the accusations and what comes next?  Contact a Title 9 attorney […]

In the past few months, three separate federal lawsuits have been brought against the Fairfax County School District (the tenth largest public school system in the country) for mishandling sexual misconduct investigations against accused students, for wrongfully punishing the accused, and for failing to ensure due process of law. By way of example, in one of the cases (that our firm is currently handling), the 18-year old male plaintiff witnessed a female student being slapped on the buttocks while in the school hallways.  The female student filed a complaint, and further accused the plaintiff of having sexually harassed her in […]

The law of “unintended consequences” – the actions of people and government have effects that are unanticipated – may well be on vividly harsh display shortly for Title IX. Among other things, the law requires schools, colleges and universities that receive federal funding to investigate claims of sexual harassment and assault against students. But depending on the outcome of a lawsuit currently on appeal in North Carolina, Title IX might end up being used to create a de facto “sex offenders” list at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill despite there being no trials or due process for […]

This is a terrifying yet very real case study in how easily universities and other schools use Title IX to abuse the Constitutional rights of students accused of sexual misconduct including denying due process, the right to confront and question an accuser, and the right against self-incrimination. When former Houston Texan football player Keith Murphy was a student at Michigan State University, a female student he knew accused him of sexually assaulting her. Under Title IX the school was required to investigate or risk losing federal funds. Operating (initially) without an attorney, Murphy voluntarily provided text message evidence of a […]