U Penn procedure on sexual assault concerns some law faculty

Article here. Excerpt:

'Nearly one-third of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School have criticized a new university procedure for handling sexual assault cases that they say undermines traditional safeguards for the accused and could lead to wrongful disciplinary actions against Penn students.

The procedure, adopted under pressure from the Obama Administration, establishes a new position at Penn - the Sexual Violence Investigative Officer - and became effective Feb. 1. The policy weakens standards for finding that a sexual assault has occurred while offering the accused only limited rights to a defense, the law school critics say.

Given examples of high-profile sexual assault charges that have unraveled under close scrutiny, notably the gang rape allegation at the University of Virginia reported by Rolling Stone magazine, the university must take steps to ensure its procedure for adjudicating sexual assault cases is fair, the faculty members say.'