College students accused of sexual assault must be allowed to cross-examine their accusers, new federal rules will state, according to a new report.
The current version would make the provision mandatory for all situations.
Per the latest draft, the accused and accuser could be seated in separate rooms, with the questions sent through a neutral party. The rules would bar accused students from asking their accusers questions deemed inappropriate such as details of their sexual history.
The rules also limit the scenarios in which schools can pursue investigations into alleged sexual assault.
‘Credibility’
Anurima Bhargava, a former Obama Justice Department official, argued that the accusers could suffer if questioned at all.“If someone tells their story and then they need to be questioned on it, that can be an incredibly invasive and traumatizing experience,” she told the Journal.
But others said the rules under the Obama administration didn’t provide the due process enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
“Courts have recognized that cross-examination is an essential part of the process of figuring out the truth in cases where credibility is a factor,” said Joe Cohn, legislative and policy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advocates for more due process for those accused of campus sexual assault.
“The update to the policy follows a recent ruling of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that states when credibility is at issue in student sexual misconduct cases, a public university must give the accused student an in-person hearing with the opportunity for the accused student or their adviser to cross-examine the accuser and witnesses,” wrote Dana Elger, public affairs officer for the school.”