Welcome back and thanks for joining The Kronzek Firm. We’ve been discussing the highly controversial lawsuit that the University of Michigan has been caught up in for several years now, and the allegations made that the university is actually biased against male students who’ve been accused of sexual assault. As you know, an accusation is not the same thing as proof of guilt, and the American justice system is founded on the belief that someone is innocent until proven guilty. So that’s a pretty serious allegation to make. (If you didn’t catch the first installment in this two-part series, take a second to get caught up here.)

The university was using an outdated method of investigation…

At the time that the first male student made his allegations against U of M and filed his lawsuit, the university’s sexual misconduct policy was operating under the single-investigator model. This is where one investigator has conversations with the accuser, the accused, and any witnesses who were present. At no time is the accused given an opportunity to confront their accuser, or vice versa. It also doesn’t allow people involved to hear one another’s testimonies and know what is being said about them. According to Doe, this process violated his due process rights.

The court said U of M has to change the way they investigate sexual assaults

The lawsuit drew attention to the university’s single investigator model, and in late 2018 the federal Sixth Circuit Court ruled that the University must allow people accused of sexual assault an opportunity to confront and question their accuser. The ruling, Doe v. Baum, said that the single investigator model was unacceptable, and stripped the accused of their constitutional rights. In response, after the court refused to re-hear the appeal, the university drafted a new sexual misconduct policy that they will be used on all three of their campuses, which changes a number of things regarding how they handle sexual misconduct allegations and investigations.

The university now claims the lawsuits don’t apply any more…

Earlier this year in June, just a week before U of M’s president was scheduled to appear in court to settle the lawsuits, the university turned around and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits. Their reason? With the university’s new policy in place, the lawsuits were no longer relevant. But dropping the suits does nothing to clear the defendant’s names, or ensure that they get a chance to finish their degrees and move on into their chosen careers without their names smeared. And despite the change in policy, U of M still hasn’t granted live cross-examinations to the two defendants accused of sexual assault on campus.

Many people don’t know how significantly rape allegations can affect your future!

The court of public opinion is a terrifying one, as it doesn’t get modulated by a judge, and there are no official rules protecting anyone. Once you’ve been accused of a sexual assault,  it can become a free-for-all on social media and in the press, and the lasting effects of those allegations can impact every part of your future for the rest of your life. That’s why it’s so important to have a fierce and aggressive sex crimes defense attorney working to clear your name. Making sure that your rights are protected, and that due process is followed is critical for justice to be achieved. So don’t leave your future in the hands of weak or ineffective criminal defense attorneys. Call The Kronzek Firm right now at 866 766 5245 and get the right people on the job. Your future depends on it.