The FIRE
12.14.15 | Samantha Harris
The Philadelphia-based American Law Institute (ALI), best known for its influential Model Penal Code, has undertaken a project specifically focused on campus sexual assault,according to The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required).
The Chronicle reports that the project “will involve developing ‘guiding principles’ for college officials, courts, and legislatures to use as a resource.” ALI’s website describes the project’s scope as follows:
A partial list of issues to be considered includes reporting procedures; confidentiality; relationships with police and local criminal justice; interim measures and support for complainants; investigation and adjudication; the role of lawyers; the creation and maintenance of records; sanctions or remedies; and appeals. The project will also examine informal resolutions, as well as the nature of hearings.
Notably absent from this list is any explicit mention of the due-process concerns plaguing campus sexual assault proceedings. Any meaningful treatment of the topic must address these serious shortcomings, which have led to condemnation by civil liberties organizations (including FIRE) and to a growing number of lawsuits filed by students who allege they were treated unfairly—to the point of illegality—in campus proceedings.
