Former Student Suing SMU Following Rape Allegations
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:37 amfrom WFAA:
A former SMU student is suing the university in federal court, arguing that he was unfairly suspended in 2006 after being accused of raping another student after a fraternity party.
The ex-student from Southlake says that administrators railroaded him and that he was never allowed to defend himself before "a kangaroo court sort of proceeding that appears to be a form of political correctness run amok," his attorneys said Tuesday.
The student, identified only as John Doe, wants his record cleared and is asking for $750,000 in damages. He says that because he was flagged as a rapist on his transcript, he has been denied admission to other schools, and is unable to find a summer job and afraid to socialize.
Southern Methodist University spokesman Kent Best said Tuesday that the school's attorneys had just received the lawsuit and hadn't had adequate time to review it. The alleged rape victim, who never pressed criminal charges, is not identified in court records and could not be reached for comment.
The incident is another in a series of troubling reports involving SMU students. Three students have died from drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning in a little more than six months.
According to the lawsuit, the student was a freshman at the business school when he met the young woman at an off-campus fraternity party on Jan. 21, 2006. He says that the two went back to his dorm room after the party and had consensual sex.
But the woman testified at the disciplinary hearing that she began to feel dizzy and sick after taking two sips of a drink that tasted like cranberry juice, the lawsuit says.
She later told her resident adviser that a stranger offered to drive her home from the party and instead took her to his room and raped her, according to court documents.
Despite the conflicting stories, the accused student alleges he never got a fair hearing before the university's disciplinary panel.
Among the allegations in the lawsuit:
•He was given only eight days to prepare for the hearing on April 28, 2006, while the accuser had been talking to the assistant dean of student life for three months. The student received the woman's full statement only five minutes before the hearing, he says.
•Evidence was insufficient to support the charge. The accuser never pressed charges with police and didn't provide a rape kit or medical records at the hearing. Other students testified that they talked to the woman during the night and that she sounded normal and coherent, the lawsuit says.
•Although the disciplinary panel's chair ruled that drugs couldn't be discussed at the hearing and although the accuser said she was "100 percent sure" that the student hadn't drugged her, the university allowed a school psychologist to testify about the effects of date-rape drugs, according to the lawsuit.
•The panel was allowed to consider rumors that the student "pushes himself on women," while most courts restrict the use of prior bad conduct.
•The assistant dean of student life, who was supposed to act as an impartial mediator, acted instead as an advocate for the alleged victim.
The hearing wound late into the night and concluded around 12:30 a.m., when the panel instructed him to return at 7 a.m. to give his closing argument because one of the members had another commitment, according to court documents.
"You can't just say, 'People have better things to do,' " said Robert Brunig, the student's attorney. " 'Your life may be on the line. But hey, tough, kid. We're moving this thing along because it's finals time and people are scattering.' "
On April 29, 2006, the student was expelled, the lawsuit says.
But he appealed to the student life office and received a lighter punishment: a one-year suspension and probation for the rest of his college years. The student instead transferred to Arizona State, where he has maintained a 3.66 GPA and joined the mock trial team, according to his attorneys.
But he says he has been shorted thousands of dollars because he must pay out-of-state tuition.
SMU said it would formally respond to the allegations in court.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/n ... 73498.html
A former SMU student is suing the university in federal court, arguing that he was unfairly suspended in 2006 after being accused of raping another student after a fraternity party.
The ex-student from Southlake says that administrators railroaded him and that he was never allowed to defend himself before "a kangaroo court sort of proceeding that appears to be a form of political correctness run amok," his attorneys said Tuesday.
The student, identified only as John Doe, wants his record cleared and is asking for $750,000 in damages. He says that because he was flagged as a rapist on his transcript, he has been denied admission to other schools, and is unable to find a summer job and afraid to socialize.
Southern Methodist University spokesman Kent Best said Tuesday that the school's attorneys had just received the lawsuit and hadn't had adequate time to review it. The alleged rape victim, who never pressed criminal charges, is not identified in court records and could not be reached for comment.
The incident is another in a series of troubling reports involving SMU students. Three students have died from drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning in a little more than six months.
According to the lawsuit, the student was a freshman at the business school when he met the young woman at an off-campus fraternity party on Jan. 21, 2006. He says that the two went back to his dorm room after the party and had consensual sex.
But the woman testified at the disciplinary hearing that she began to feel dizzy and sick after taking two sips of a drink that tasted like cranberry juice, the lawsuit says.
She later told her resident adviser that a stranger offered to drive her home from the party and instead took her to his room and raped her, according to court documents.
Despite the conflicting stories, the accused student alleges he never got a fair hearing before the university's disciplinary panel.
Among the allegations in the lawsuit:
•He was given only eight days to prepare for the hearing on April 28, 2006, while the accuser had been talking to the assistant dean of student life for three months. The student received the woman's full statement only five minutes before the hearing, he says.
•Evidence was insufficient to support the charge. The accuser never pressed charges with police and didn't provide a rape kit or medical records at the hearing. Other students testified that they talked to the woman during the night and that she sounded normal and coherent, the lawsuit says.
•Although the disciplinary panel's chair ruled that drugs couldn't be discussed at the hearing and although the accuser said she was "100 percent sure" that the student hadn't drugged her, the university allowed a school psychologist to testify about the effects of date-rape drugs, according to the lawsuit.
•The panel was allowed to consider rumors that the student "pushes himself on women," while most courts restrict the use of prior bad conduct.
•The assistant dean of student life, who was supposed to act as an impartial mediator, acted instead as an advocate for the alleged victim.
The hearing wound late into the night and concluded around 12:30 a.m., when the panel instructed him to return at 7 a.m. to give his closing argument because one of the members had another commitment, according to court documents.
"You can't just say, 'People have better things to do,' " said Robert Brunig, the student's attorney. " 'Your life may be on the line. But hey, tough, kid. We're moving this thing along because it's finals time and people are scattering.' "
On April 29, 2006, the student was expelled, the lawsuit says.
But he appealed to the student life office and received a lighter punishment: a one-year suspension and probation for the rest of his college years. The student instead transferred to Arizona State, where he has maintained a 3.66 GPA and joined the mock trial team, according to his attorneys.
But he says he has been shorted thousands of dollars because he must pay out-of-state tuition.
SMU said it would formally respond to the allegations in court.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/n ... 73498.html
