McCaskill's Plan Unnecessary; College Personnel Know About Sex Assault

WASHINGTON - July 9, 2014 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 9,  2014):   Since Senator Clair McCaskill's own survey shows that four out of every five colleges and universities already do provide training for faculty and staff in investigating sexual assaults, her proposal to be unveiled Wednesday to mandate such training may do very little to deter date rapes on campus, especially since almost half the schools reported no forcible sex offenses at all to investigate, and many more had only a handful, argues public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

        "Very few colleges have enough reports of sexual assaults annually to warrant even one full-time investigator, so most of this very expensive training may be wasted trying to make poorly paid campus police or low level university functionaries into one-shot criminal investigators, rather than utilizing people who already have the requisite training and experience to perform this delicate and all important function," says Banzhaf, who has been widely cited on this issue.

        For example, his alternative proposal was just outlined in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

    "A public interest law professor at George Washington University says one solution may be to allow colleges and universities to form a consortium and hire trained investigators.  John Banzhaf said Tuesday that universities in the same cities or those that are regionally connected could share an investigative service that would 'promptly and impartially investigate all reports of sex crimes involving students, using full-time trained and seasoned professionals such as former special victims detectives, retired sex-crimes prosecutors... rather than university functionaries.'"

        While probably no single university can afford to hire a full-time trained sex-offense investigator, universities in many large cities could collectively fund a citywide sex-offense investigation and adjudication institution.  One central function of this separate entity would be to promptly and impartially investigate all reports of sex crimes involving students, using full-time trained and seasoned professionals such as former special victims detectives, retired sex-crimes prosecutors, etc. rather than university functionaries.

        "Leaving all investigations of reported sex crimes on campus in the hands of experienced investigators employed by an outside entity would help insure that they were all carried out in a proper and uniform professional manner with no possibility of favoritism because the accused is a star athlete or the son of a alum with clout," says Banzhaf, noting that carefully following proper investigative techniques is essential in discovering and preserving evidence in a form which is admissible and persuasive.

        In addition to handling the entire investigation of date rape claims rather than just leaving them to untrained amateurs on campus, such a separate stand-alone entity could also adjudicate complaints which might have merit, suggests Banzhaf.  This would be similar to arbitration agencies which help resolve disputes for businesses fairly and promptly, usually without the delays and cumbersome procedures used by courts  - and, apparently in many situations, also by universities.

        "The assistant professors or mid-level deans who usually adjudicate campus date rape cases have no experience, and may be swayed by their loyalty to the school or by their fear that an unpopular verdict could damage their academic careers.  In contrast, using an outside entity employing retired lawyers, judges, sex crime prosecutors and others experienced in weighing this type of evidence, and free from even a hint of partiality or school loyalty, would help insure fairer treatment for both accused and accusers, and shield the university from legal damage claims of improper procedures or bias, argues Banzhaf.

        Also according to the Dispatch, the "renowned law professor who has begun following the issue. John F. Banzhaf III, professor of public interest law at George Washington University Law School, says he has noticed .  .  .  more students suing their schools after being punished administratively for sexual assault."

        Indeed, he recently reported that date rapes are costing colleges tens of millions of dollars a year, largely as a result of such litigation, and the costs are likely to skyrocket as more dissatisfied students initiate legal action.

        Males have already used legal action successfully at Brown (2X), Central College, Denison,  Duke (2X) , George Washington, Holy Cross, Occidental, Saint Joseph, University of the South, and Xavier.

         Meanwhile, law suits filed by students convicted by their universities of rape and/or sexual assault are pending against Bucknell, Cincinnati, Columbia, Delaware State, Depauw, Drew, Kenyon, U of Michigan, Philadelphia U, Swarthmore, Vassar, Williams, and perhaps others.

        All this suggests, says Banzhaf, is that the procedures required for the fair adjudication of campus date rape complaints may soon be determined by judges applying constitutional law, and not by the federal government through legislation and/or agency regulations.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf