New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
As a lawyer who regularly serves as a Title IX attorney-advisor to students and faculty at Ivy League, elite, and other highly respected colleges and universities both in New York – Columbia, Barnard, NYU, Cornell, Fordham, Pratt, Binghamton – and in many other states, I am well aware of how difficult it is for both respondents and complainants to manage their lives as they advocate for themselves and fight through Title IX and other student disciplinary/misconduct processes governing dating violence, stalking, sexual assault and harassment. When a respondent, sometimes referred to as a defendant, is a young student, as opposed to a faculty member or administrator, sometimes they fail to fully grasp the magnitude of the claims against them, properly prepare themselves to respond to and defend themselves against the accusations, and truly appreciate the lack of due process protections that are otherwise afforded to them in a real courtroom where judges uphold the rule of law as opposed to college and university administrators who are influenced by their own biases and desire for self-preservation. This is true, and arguably more so, when the allegations are baseless and born from jealousy or revenge, and there is strong evidence of the respondent’s non-responsibility, aka, innocence.
No matter the accusations and evidence, ensuring that the right strategy is implemented in defense to an allegation involving dating violence, stalking, sexual assault or harassment is critical to the success of any defense, to limit or overcome that bias, and prevent both false and very real allegations from upending everything a student has worked so hard to achieve. Doing so at the earliest possible time can mean the difference between suspension and expulsion, and a finding of no responsibility or a probationary sanction that “falls off” your school record.
With the above in mind, Saland Law is pleased to once again share another successful resolution to a Title IX accusation against a respondent-client at a top institution in Pennsylvania. Accused of sexual assault, stalking and harassment by a former partner who our client dated earlier in his/her collegiate life, it was clear that the claim was born from resentment and anger, and very likely the accuser-complainant’s own personal issues. Nonetheless, our client had to defend him/herself. Though the allegations are not publicly available, they were unequivocally false and a weaponization of the Title IX process. In response, Saland Law examined and reviewed the old texts and DMs, identified possible witnesses, and corroborated the real story that contradicted the fake narrative. Upon doing so, Jeremy Saland’s mantra of preparation and “doing your homework” to identify and implement the right strategy absolutely paid off.
Briefly, after repeatedly vetting the complaint with the client, the client shared his/her own victimization at the hands of the complainant. In doing so, Jeremy sought corroboration by way of out-cry witnesses and other communications. Even without them, building the credibility of the client was key to corroborate this abuse even if we had to rely solely on his/her words.
Upon completion of our “homework”, our client agreed to file his/her own Title IX complaint. In other words, not only would our client forcefully defend him/herself against the false claims, but now that the real abuser, aka, the complainant, selfishly targeted our client, our client would no longer allow him/herself to be a victim. Once our client filed the complaint with our assistance and guidance, the complainant found him/herself on the other end of real, viable and serious Title IX complaint.
Presumably seeing the proverbial forest from the trees, being confronted with evidence of his/her own misconduct and violations, recognizing his/her own exposure, and undoubtedly conferring with his/her advisor and parents, the former-complainant-turned-respondent saw his/her garbage for what it was and rethought his/her initial course of action. What next unfolded was a fairly quick and expedited informal resolution / administrative resolution whereby the parties agreed to drop their respective complaints without any conditions other than no-contact orders for both.
At bottom, our client never wanted to commence an action and had long since forgotten his/her abuser. However, once confronted with a false but potentially damaging complaint, we worked with our client to defend against the allegations. With hard work and effort, along with a deep dive into the past, doing our “homework” paid off for our client and our strategy evolved from one demonstrating the claims were fraudulent into one that established that our client was the real victim. When presented with the complaint against him/her after we did our due diligence, the complainant-turned-respondent knew he/she was about to rue the day he/she filed a dishonest complaint that would now likely leave him/her suspended or expelled from school. In the end, he/she made a smart decision and capitulated to our client.
Founded by criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland, Saland Law represents complainants and respondents in Title IX and student disciplinary matters across the United States. To learn more about the Title IX and other school disciplinary processes and policies at the above referenced colleges and universities, as well as others in all 50 states, visit either Saland Law’s New York Title IX pages or go to TitleIX-Lawyer.Com for more analysis and for those schools outside New York State.