
Accused College Students Deserve the Presumption of Innocence - jseliger
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/title-ix-ags/582673/
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stcredzero
Everyone deserves the Presumption of Innocence. Without the Presumption of
Innocence, it becomes too easy for the government or sufficiently powerful
people in the community to use accusations for their own purposes. This was
seen in the Salem Witch trials, where one study found evidence that some
accusations were used to eliminate rivals or to make property available. This
was seen in the activities of the English crown prior to the formulation of
the Magna Carta. It is seen time and again in history. In 2019, it is seen in
very recent history.

~~~
DigiMortal
Everyone deserves due process.

~~~
stcredzero
If the consequences are potentially life destroying, then it's the height of
dishonesty to handwave away due process, saying, "It's not a criminal
prosecution." It might as well be. Such an accusation outside of the Title IX
process would be seen as _" per se defamation."_ In plain English, some
accusations are so damaging, there's no need for the purposes of defamation to
prove they are damaging.

By eliminating most of due process, reducing the burden of proof, and denying
the ability of the accused to face and cross examine their accuser, Title IX
is basically declaring "open season" on life damaging accusations. Granted,
it's often a bad situation to be in, to be an accuser. No due process worth
its name is going to be easy for either party. If it were easy for one side or
another, that's a signal the system is broken. Example: Falsely accused black
men in the South suffered injustice because the role of accuser was made too
easy by racial bias.

(EDIT: Note that there are even local DAs and prosecutors in the US who are
seeking to erode presumption of innocence in sexual misconduct cases in the
actual judicial system, for similar reasons as cited for Title IX.)

