Insights & News

By: Ben North          This year’s Falsely Accused Day, September 9, came only days before the public comment period is set to close – today – for the Biden Administration’s Proposed Title IX Regulations. On Falsely Accused Day, we remember that the capacity for dishonesty is part of the human condition and why it is important to trust the evidence in any dispute between two people. Whenever systems are arranged so that parties to a dispute have no power to advocate for themselves, the risk and incentive for false accusations increase. Unfortunately, that is exactly the kind […]

By: Ben North The 2020 Title IX Regulations have a very strict process that schools must follow after receiving notice of an allegation of alleged sexual harassment (which includes allegations of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, and dating violence). These rules are codified at 34 C.F.R. §106.45. The process begins when an accuser (referred to as the “Complainant”) decides to report allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or some violation under Title IX. The allegations may be reported directly to the school’s Title IX Coordinator or to a faculty or staff member designated who has the authority to institute corrective […]

By: Ben North and Eamon McCarthy Earls This week marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Enacted as a follow up to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX was intended to prevent sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. Senator Birch Bayh, one of the primary proponents of the bill, said that Title IX was intended to “close [a] loophole” left by the Civil Rights Act.  Title IX is well known for its huge impact on sports, requiring high schools, colleges, and universities to invest in women’s sports teams and support women athletes […]

By: Lindsay R. McKasson and Jared J. Roberts The riveting trial of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard has come to an end with the Pirates of the Caribbean star victorious to a tune of $15 million. As most anyone with a social media account likely knows, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court. At issue was a 2018 op-ed Ms. Heard published in The Washington Post (titled “Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence and felt our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”). Mr. Depp claimed the article cost him multiple job opportunities […]