Title IX is a federal civil rights law that was passed that prevents people in the United States from experiencing discrimination, loss of opportunities, and benefits because of sex-based bias in any federally funded educational institute or program. Violations of Title IX include sex discrimination in athletics and educational programs, sexual harassment, and assault such as rape, stalking, retaliation, and dating violence.
An unfair accusation against you for violating Title IX can have highly damaging consequences such as disciplinary charges, criminal charges, suspension, revocation of your degree, expulsion, and jail time. Your lack of legal knowledge can cause you to lose your case. A Title IX student defense lawyer has the legal expertise to help you understand the rights you can exercise during the case and formulate proper strategies to prove your innocence.
Investigation
Every education institution receiving federal funding must comply with Title IX. They have to create appropriate policies to prohibit sex discrimination and have proper grievance procedures after receiving a complaint regarding a violation of Title IX. The school must ensure that a fair, prompt, unbiased, and reliable investigation is carried out. Lack of an investigation can cause the school to lose its funding. Your defense attorney examines the policy and guides you throughout to check that the investigation carried out by the school is not misconducted.
Equal treatment: The accused and accuser should be treated fairly until a resolution is reached. Often, the schools might bias the accuser and subject the accused to limited rights despite them not being proved guilty. The defense attorney is aware of the rights the accused has and makes sure that the investigators and administration are unbiased during all the stages of the investigation.
Information: Both parties have the right to receive information about the status of the case, investigation procedures, their results, and any possible action that can be taken against you. Your attorney helps you understand each stage of the procedure and file any appeals that you can against these charges.
Prompt: Each school’s procedure slightly differs, and they might carry out interviews, cross-examinations, examine the evidence, listen to witness statements and conduct disciplinary hearings based on their policy. Often these procedures are extensive and carry on for a matter of several years, disrupting your everyday life while causing excessive emotional stress. Your attorney ensures that the case is prompt to protect your rights.
Legal advice: Attorneys provide training on what to say during interviews to be composed and do not let emotional distress cause you to act negatively. Incorrect statements during the procedure can severely damage the validity of your statements. They also carry out any communication with the authorities and the accuser and only disclose any relevant information they are obligated to.
Confidential: Disclosure of any information of the case and procedures might lead to a negative impact of public opinion on the investigators, resulting in bias. It also causes people to perceive the accused in a manner that can cause social shunning and isolation. Your attorney helps you take the correct steps to seek compensation from your school if they do not let you exercise your rights.
Your Title IX student defense attorney works dedicatedly towards your case and gathers necessary evidence from their resources to successfully prove your innocence and prevent you from being unjustly punished.
