Title IX Hearings Attorney in Los Angeles, California

Sexual assault allegations are serious and could affect your education, career, and reputation. If you have been accused of sexual assault or a sex crime in an educational institution in Los Angeles, California, you need an experienced Title IX attorney to intervene as soon as possible. You can get the help you need by calling me at the Alec Rose Law Office.

My name is Alec Rose, and I am a criminal defense attorney who is dedicated to seeking the truth and helping students and faculty members at UCLA, The Claremont Colleges, University of Southern California, and other educational institutions in California defend themselves against accusations of sexual assault and misconduct. This legal guidance carries all the way through the Title IX hearing process.

What Is Title IX?

Title IX is a federal law that was passed as part of the Education Amendment Act of 1972. Title IX provides that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The purpose of this federal civil rights law was to prohibit gender discrimination among students and employees of educational institutions.

Unfortunately, these educational institutions have now masked Title IX cases in controversy by favoring the so-called victims while putting the accused through a lot of injustice. Often, the university or college conducts an internal Title IX investigation and disciplinary hearing and ends up finding the accused student or employee responsible for committing a sexual crime.

In reality, many alleged campus sex crimes in educational institutions are two consensual young adults having sex. However, one of them regrets the act later on and ends up accusing the other of sexual assault, rape, or stalking. Regardless, the accused is often not given a fair hearing by the panel members, in accordance with the law.

How Do Title IX Hearings Work?

Title IX hearings are conducted on campus. The proceedings may be initiated anytime the administrative officers of the school receive a sexual discrimination report between two students or between a student and faculty member. Often times, these complaints consist of sexual assault or misconduct allegations. They can range from sexual harassment to making sexually inappropriate comments, stalking, rape, and more.

Generally, Title IX hearings involve a panel of investigators reviewing the various allegations and evidence that are brought against the accused student or faculty member. The investigators will ask you extremely personal and detailed questions about your relationship with your accuser, as well as any sexual acts that may have taken place between the two of you. Their goal is to get the full story so that they can determine whether you are responsible for what allegedly happened.

From the information obtained during the investigation and available evidence, the panel then decides whether the accused student or staff member has disobeyed the school's code of conduct. If found guilty, an accused student may face expulsion from the school, while an accused faculty member could face dismissal and other severe consequences.

Challenges the Accused May Face During a Title IX Hearing

According to recent data, the government has conducted about 502 investigations of colleges for possibly mishandling reports of sexual violence. Until now, 197 cases have been resolved, while 305 remain open. The way the majority of Title IX hearings are conducted often encounter numerous problems. These include:

• The university’s rules are not transparent.

• The panel members may be biased.

• The rules of consent remain unclear.

One of the core reasons these cases drag out is because the accused does not know how to address these issues. On the flip side, an experienced attorney does and can coach you to effectively defend yourself.

Although an attorney can’t physically represent you during your Title IX hearing, that doesn’t mean you can’t get legal guidance from an experienced legal professional. Many students and faculty members mistakenly assume that, because they have to represent themselves in the Title IX hearing itself, that means there’s no point in working with a lawyer. This could not be further from the truth. Hiring a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney could mean the difference between clearing your name and facing serious consequences.

Why You Should Get an Experienced Attorney

With your future, career, education, liberty, and reputation on the line, effective advocacy is crucial. As an experienced Title IX and criminal defense attorney, I will educate you about your current situation, carry out a private investigation, coach you through the Title IX process, prep you thoroughly for your hearing, and ultimately help you represent yourself as effectively as possible. In short, hiring me as your attorney will increase your chances of ending a speculative investigation even before the Title IX proceedings start.