• Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 day ago

    I’m pretty sure you’re already allowed a lawyer. Repeating you can have a lawyer twice doesn’t add anything, unless you can show their right to a lawyer was somehow being bypassed. Do we have cases of that?

    Yes. Under the “Dear Colleague” Obama-era guidance which later became official policy before Devos changed policy in 2018, Biden changed it mostly back to the Obama-era policy and Trump is now rolling it back to 2018.

    Under the Obama-era policy (changed by Devos in 2018 and restored by Biden) schools were under no obligation to allow you to have a lawyer present. If you don’t believe me, here are two law offices selling their services pointing this out, written during the Biden admin:

    https://www.jasonenglishlaw.com/title-ix-lawsuit-guide

    Some institutions will not allow the accused to have a lawyer present during the Title IX hearing, while others do permit this

    https://www.binnall.com/title-ix-defense/what-to-expect-in-a-title-ix-proceeding/

    As an initial matter, it is worth noting that schools differ significantly in terms of how they investigate Title IX sexual misconduct allegations. Not all schools provide students with their right to a hearing, for example, or even allow the parties to appeal the decision that their investigators ultimately reach.

    Over the course of the investigation, you may not necessarily have access to a Title 9 attorney in the traditional sense. Simply put, the school may forbid each party from having an attorney directly represent them and speak on their behalf.

    The short version is that the Obama-era and Biden-era policy is aimed at maximizing the number of men found liable without it being an obvious and utter farce while the Devos guidelines are about establishing a due process that makes an attempt to be fair.