Massachusetts Senate Votes to Kill Due Process in Campus Sexual Assault Tribunals

Article here. Excerpt:

'A bill that addresses campus sexual assault and harassment allegations swept through the Senate in a unanimous vote this week, but a close inspection of the language suggests it may open up the Bay State’s colleges and universities to a batch of lawsuits from the accused.
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The 13-page bill, sponsored by state Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury), calls “for the use of a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard to resolve complaints” and stipulates that colleges “may establish rules regarding how the proceedings will be conducted.”

The rules, according to Moore’s bill, can include “guidelines on the extent to which the advisor or support person for each party may participate in a meeting or disciplinary proceeding and any limitations on participation which shall apply equally to both parties.”

That stipulation, however, indicates that an accused person’s representative can be barred from asking the accuser questions.

“The reporting party and the responding party shall not be allowed to directly question each other during disciplinary proceedings,” the legislation states.'