Civil Rights on Campus

From The Atlantic we have this critique of parts of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), by Lawyer Wendy Kaminer.  The Act is up for renewal.  The mere fact that it is up for renewal gives me hope.  A form of sunset clause exists.

A serious problem with the act is that it allows colleges and universities to conduct their own "trials" for sexual violence involving students.  If you are a local auto mechanic accused of raping a Coed you deal with the local District Attorney.  However, if you also happen to be a full time student you belong to the school and your Constitutional Protections begin to melt away.  Ms. Kraminer writes:

These low standards of proof, together with the appeals provisions, reflect the tendency of victim advocates, including Obama Administration officials, to err on the side of presuming guilt in sexual misconduct cases.  Some have unabashed contempt for the rights of the accused:  Boston attorney Wendy Murphy writes disdainfully of "lawyers for men accused of rape (who) injected themselves into college disciplinary proceedings demanding 'due process' and arguing that accused students have a constitutional liberty interest at stake."  The accused have no constitutional claim to due process, she writes approvingly, but "student victims of sexual assault" do, "because sexual assault is a form of gender discrimination."

The way Ms Kraminer presents Attorney Wendy Murphy makes Ms Muphy sound incoherent, and opposed to the "Rights of Englishmen", which we have retained and refined over the centuries.

Hat tip to The Instapundit.

Regards — Cliff