An Assault on Due Process at UC Berkeley

Article here. Excerpt:

'Choudhry’s acceptance of Berkeley’s proposed settlement came at a cost. He waived his right to appeal the university’s findings, challenge the sanctions, and seek vindication in a full-blown university disciplinary procedure. The benefit Choudhry reasonably relied on was resolution of the case.

Although Andrea LeCampagne’s OPHD report declared that “the Complainant has no motive to exaggerate,” on March 8, Tyann Sorrell filed in Alameda County Superior Court a potentially multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Choudhry and Berkeley, alleging, among other things, that he sexually harassed her and that the university failed to protect her.

Napolitano, speaking to the Sacramento Bee’s editorial board but apparently unfamiliar with the facts, accused Choudhry of “groping,” a significantly more serious charge than any found in the university’s OPHD report. Two days later Napolitano, herself the target of harsh criticism for mishandling a number of high-profile sexual misconduct cases having nothing to do with Choudhry, directed UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to “institute disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Choudhry through the Privilege and Tenure process.”

Choudhry’s grievance contends that the “initiation of a second disciplinary process is unfair, unjust, and contrary to the University’s own policies.” His arguments are compelling.'