Attorney's Tactic In Yale Sexual Misconduct Case Raises Questions

Article here. Excerpt:

'In the eyes of Justin Dillon, a Washington, D.C., attorney who has handled campus misconduct cases nationwide, the case "perfectly captures the hysterical campus climate these days. Highly ambiguous situations are put through an incredibly one-sided process in which the accused are presumed guilty from the start, and the results are sadly predictable."

Stern is "doing what any good defense attorney with a high-profile case would do," Dillon said, "getting the counter-narrative out there to show there are very much two sides to this story. ... There is nothing to lose when your name is out there and everybody is assuming you are guilty. He has nowhere to go but up."

But Colby Bruno, who represents those filing complaints as a lawyer for the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston, said Stern's action is reflective of a pushback from those accused of sexual assault.

"Perpetrators are fighting back as a way to kind of punish survivors," Bruno said. "They are saying you were better off when you were silent because now I'm going to go out there and just give one side of the story."

For a lawyer to go public with confidential details of such a case is a breach of privacy, Bruno said, that reopens trauma for a victim and "significantly contributes to the unwillingness of victims to report."

Montague plans to file a lawsuit against Yale over his expulsion around the end of the month, a spokeswoman for Stern and the family said. Yale University has declined to comment about the case.'