Allen Law Blog

Kimberly Diel, a University of Tennessee pharmacy student, recently filed a first amendment lawsuit against the school, alleging the university expelled her because she posted on her private, personal social accounts the school deemed too sexual.  The pharmacy school complained that this was “unprofessional.”  It is all too common that professional schools or special programs claim a greater right to…

Judge Michael Shea of the Federal District Court of Connecticut has ordered the University of Connecticut to pay Attorney Michael Thad Allen over $63,000 in reasonable attorney fees due to the university’s violation of a student’s due process rights in a sexual misconduct hearing. Attorney Allen sued on behalf of “John Doe” after the University of Connecticut suspended him for…

Students educational records just became much less private, at least at state universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently appealed a decision of the state supreme court all the way to the United States Supreme Court.  The North Carolina ruling required UNC to release disciplinary records of students who violated university policies related to sexual assault. Now…

In December, the U.S. Department of Education announced the implementation of a new “free speech hotline” for students and faculty members to file complaints about free speech violations at colleges and universities. The “hotline” is not so much a hotline in the traditional sense.  Instead an email account freespeech@ed.gov managed by attorneys from the Office of General Counsel for the…

The University of Michigan recently secured a significant victory in a Title IX case that split judges on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In an 8-6 en banc decision, the court overruled the decision of a three-judge panel and found that the university had responded adequately to an alleged victim’s allegations of harassment.  The appeal court added that UMich…

Federal judge William Young of the Federal District Court for Massachusetts indicated he may strike down part of the rule implemented by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding how schools are required to respond to sexual misconduct allegations under Title IX. The regulations implemented August 14, 2020 require universities to allow cross examination. The requirement of cross examination, which is the…

The new Title IX rules instituted on August 14, 2020 guarantee more due process rights to both the accused and to accusers.  Still, colleges and universities that fought the new regulations tooth and nail, wish to keep applying their old rules as long as they can.  Recently, the United States District Court, Northern District of New York told RPI that…

The United States Supreme Court will hear a case pitting a pair of Georgia Gwinnett College students against campus administrators.  At issue is whether it is legal to confine free speech on public campuses to so-called “free speech” zones.  These zones are often minuscule and clearly meant to send the message that campuses will only tolerate free speech if forced…

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died September 18, 2020 at the age of 87, was famous for her staunch feminist support of Title IX rights—including the due process rights that protect the accused and alleged victims alike. The justice, fondly known in pop culture as “Notorious RBG,” has left a legacy of advocating for gender equality and women’s…

Read the decision: Order to Disclose Campus Advisor Records The US District Court for the Northern District of New York has just ordered Syracuse University to hand over the records of a campus “advisor” who gave procedural advice to the complainant in its Title IX proceedings after the judge found that portions showed the disciplinary proceedings were “procedurally unfair and…