Proponents of affirmative consent (discussed earlier here) argue that, to avoid sexual assault charges, you should have to prove your sexual partner gave clear, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity – and not just at the outset, but before each new action. While this may strike you as closer to a protracted […]
Category: Yes Means Yes
Combating Campus Sexual Assaults without Stacking the Deck against the Innocent
Some colleges and universities have for years come under fire, from students and critics outside the campus accusing them of having done little to address or prevent instances of sexual attacks against students– or perhaps even to have covered them up. A partial response was a federal law requiring campuses to report violent crimes; another […]
“Yes Means Yes” Laws May Pose Bigger Problems for College Students
This series has previously identified problematic elements of college codes of conduct using a new “yes means yes” standard in judging alleged sexual misconduct, and described one recent California case (Doe v. Regents of the University of California, San Diego) – there are others, with many more likely in store – where a state judge voided […]
How College Disciplinary Hearings Can Violate Students’ Due Process Rights
In an earlier article I summarized the potential unfairness to college students of school disciplinary hearings involving allegations of unwelcome sexual conduct in states — including New York — which have enacted laws requiring colleges and other post-secondary schools based there to use a “yes means yes” standard. This article will look at a recent court […]
New “Affirmative Consent” law in New York State Colleges
There is a new legal requirement in a few states — including New York — which have recently adopted laws requiring colleges and universities within their jurisdiction to revise their codes of student conduct to include some new mandates related to sexual conduct. (Eligibility for state financial aid programs is the carrot and stick that […]