I’m not sure if these numbers are enough to qualify as a “trend” yet, but if they are it could signal at least the beginning of a return to the normal rule of law on America’s college campuses as it applies to serious violent crimes. As we have discussed here until I was ready to set my own hair on fire, far too many colleges have adopted “protective measures” in alleged sexual assault cases on their campuses which involve essentially having a kangaroo court of faculty and administrators holding rape trials on the premises. These frequently involve no individuals with any sort of judicial or law enforcement experience and the accused is frequently denied the standard legal representation which would be mandatory in an actual court of law.
Now, some of those accused have been fighting back, taking their accusers to court for bringing their lives to ruin on charges which wound up amounting to nothing. (Charlotte Observer)
In the past three years, male students accused of sexual misconduct have filed hundreds of lawsuits, charging that they were the victims of both false allegations and school procedures that failed to properly vet the claims.
And while there are no exact figures, in dozens of those cases male students also have sued the women who lodged the original allegations. One out-of-state attorney says he has filed more than 15 defamation complaints nationwide on behalf of male students against their accusers.
Locally, lawyers used the threat of defamation complaints against female accusers in sexual-misconduct cases at both Davidson College and UNC Charlotte. Meanwhile, an Appalachian State University student has pending lawsuits against the school and his former Union County girlfriend after he was suspended in 2015 for “unlawful entry” into her dorm room.
Critics of these lawsuits say they can place assault victims on trial, further suppressing an already under-reported crime.
Even I have to admit that, having been raised with the old assumptions of the past for so long, the headline is a bit off-putting. Suing a woman who was allegedly raped? But there have been simply too many cases dredged up where the charges either turned out to be vastly overstated or completely unfounded, combined with instances where there simply were no legal protections in place for the accused that what else can be done?
The truly sad part of this, as in so many instances, is that it’s really not the fault of the woman bringing the allegations. It’s the social justice warrior climate permeating so many schools, filling everyone’s heads with stories of a “campus rape culture” and a distrust of law enforcement and the court system. It’s easy to see why so many would disregard the normal protections and requirements of the legal system and listen to professors or administrators whispering in their ears, telling them that they can simply “handle it at school” so they won’t need to get the cops involved.
This, of course, is a betrayal of not only the victim and the accused, but of all other women in the surrounding community. As has been repeatedly noted, if a rape takes place, these college kangaroo courts can’t do more than issue a reprimand and boot the alleged offender out of school. If he was actually guilty, this basically means that you just turned a rapist loose on the rest of the community with far more time on his hands. Tell me, advocates of such systems… is there nothing worrisome to you about such a scheme?
No woman needs to be “put on trial twice” in these situations if you actually put the accused through a real trial the first time. That means filing police reports, having them gather evidence, interview witnesses and bring charges. And the accused gets to mount a legal defense and have his day in court as well. (I’ll say “his” because it’s nearly always a man.) Yes, it can be uncomfortable for any victim of any crime and I have all the sympathy in the world. But in case it’s any consolation, if a crime actually did take place and the guy is guilty, the judge can lock him up for a very long time and I’ll be there right alongside you cheering for the most severe sentence possible.
