Campus Disciplinary Defense

Visit our full Title IX Defense website.

Our campus disciplinary practice is nationwide. We’ve represented students at more than 100 schools across the country, from Maine to California, Georgia to Alaska, and many places in between.

If you are a student who has been accused of sexually assaulting another student, please get help quickly.

Please also download our Guide to Defending Yourself in a Campus Sexual Assault Case.

Too often students who are accused of serious misconduct in a student disciplinary proceeding keep silent, assuming that if they just tell their version of what happened, everything will work out fine.

This is a mistake.

We have represented students in school disciplinary proceedings who have been accused of sexual assault. It is impressive how many resources a university can bring to investigate and discipline its own students.

THE SCHOOL’S INTEREST

The school’s interest is not in being fair. The school is not trying to make sure that the truth comes out. Rather, the school is trying to make sure it protects itself.

The United States Department of Education has told schools that it takes allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault very seriously. The Department of Education can cut all federal funding to a school – money for federal student loans and money for faculty research – if the school handles a rape complaint in a way that the Department of Education doesn’t like.

If a student complains about rape on campus and the school doesn’t handle the situation aggressively, the school can be sued, and the Department of Education can start a lengthy, and expensive, investigation of the school.

YOUR FUTURE

If the school decides that you sexually assaulted another student, that can follow you for the rest of your life.

A school can expel you or suspend you if you are found guilty of rape on campus. They can ruin your future without ever calling the police.

Perhaps worse, the school can put a mark on your transcript. If it does, every school you apply to in the future will see that you were found guilty of sexual assault. Very few schools will accept a student with that mark on his transcript. If you want to transfer, if you want to go to law school or graduate school, you will have a much harder time.

A campus disciplinary hearing can quickly dim a bright future.

A UNIVERSITY DISCIPLINARY HEARING

In a university disciplinary proceeding, you don’t have the same rights as in a courtroom:

  • You aren’t presumed innocent.
  • You don’t get to ask questions of the person who is accusing you.
  • It’s your word against the other student’s, and they only have to believe her a little bit more.
  • They may not have to tell you what evidence they have against you.
  • You can be found guilty if they just think her version is more likely than yours.
  • You may not have the right to appeal.
  • Your judges may be biased against you.

INVESTIGATION IS KEY

In many cases of campus sexual assault, a diligent investigation by the student who has been accused needs to happen as quickly as possible. Promptly starting an investigation can be the best way to bring out the truth, and to clear your name.

Immediately, every email, text message, or other communication that is relevant to the accusation against you needs to be found and saved. A trained investigator needs to talk to each person who could be a witness to what happened – and what happened before what happened. The truth is only on your side if you preserve it and find it quickly.

THE LAW IS COMPLEX

University disciplinary hearings are complex legal proceedings. The rules vary by each school and are set out in your student handbook. Many courts have held that this student handbook is a contract between you and the school – the school has to follow its own rules when it tries to discipline you.

The Department of Education makes rules that schools have to follow when someone on campus says that they have been sexually assaulted or raped. Campus rape allegations can trigger a strong reaction from the Department of Education.

OUR EXPERIENCE

We have successfully represented students who have been accused of sexual assault on campus. By diligently investigating the facts and navigating the University procedures, you can take dramatic steps to protect your future and your good name. Our founding attorney, Matt Kaiser, has taught other lawyers how to help students who are accused of sexual assault on campus.

If you have been accused of sexual assault on campus, you may also want to see some of the advocacy organizations that are doing work in this area.

FACE – Families Advocating for Campus Equality

FIRE – Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

 

Justin Dillon Publishes Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner: Biden’s Title IX changes would roll back fairness and due process on campus

Justin Dillon Interviewed by Doug McKelway at The Washington Examiner: The Future of Title IX: A Conversation with Justin Dillon

Justin Dillon Coauthors Opinion for USA Today: Ending due process: Reinstating Catherine Lhamon at the Dept. of Education is a mistake

Justin Dillon Coauthors Opinion for the National Review: Why Does Joe Biden Hate Due Process?

Justin Dillon Quoted in New York Times: DeVos’s Rules Bolster Rights of Students Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Justin Dillon Coauthors Opinion for the National Review: Coronavirus Is No Excuse to Delay the Education Department’s New Title IX Regulations

Justin Dillon Publishes Opinion for The Chronicle of Higher Education: New Title IX Proposal Would Restore Fairness in Sexual-Misconduct Cases

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon in The Washington Post: The Education Department wants to make campus sexual misconduct hearings fairer. It should go further.

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Op-Ed for The Washington Post: Lawyers: DeVos is bringing due process to campus sexual assault cases

Justin Dillon Coauthors Op-Ed for The Harvard Crimson: The Hidden Perils of Affirmative Consent Policies

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Op-Ed: Minnesota’s Failed Football Boycott Was a Blow to Fairness in Campus Sexual Assault Hearings

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Op-Ed in Los Angeles Times: Absurdity Reigns in Campus Sexual Assault Trials.

Justin Dillon Publishes Op-Ed on Lawnews.com: Why We Are Suing the Government on Behalf of Students Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon Publish an Editorial in the Los Angeles Times: How to Punish Campus Sexual Assault

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon Publish Editorial in LA Times: Why It’s Unfair for Colleges to Use Outside Investigators in Rape Cases.

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon Publish Op-ed in The Weekly Standard: The Campus Sex Scene: How Congress Can Make It Worse

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Op-Ed in San Diego Union-Tribune: California Bill Won’t Solve Sexual Assault Problem on Campus

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Op-Ed in Boston Herald: College Courts Flunks Fairness Test

Matt Kaiser Publishes an Article for Time Magazine: Some Rules about Consent are “Unfair” to Male Students”

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon Publish an Editorial in the Wall Street Journal: The White House Flunks a Test on Sexual Assault

Justin Dillon and Matt Kaiser Publish Opinion for The Wall Street Journal: The White House Flunks a Test on Sexual Assault

Matt Kaiser and Justin Dillon Publish a Letter to the Editor in the New York Times: The Rights of the Accused

Firm News
KaiserDillon is Hiring

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I am Being Accused of a Title IX Violation. Should I File a Counterclaim Against My Accuser? – Justin Dillon

Why shouldn’t I sue before the Title IX process is over? – Justin Dillon

When is the best time to hire a title IX lawyer? – Justin Dillon

How long do Title IX cases take? – Justin Dillon

If I lose on campus, how does a Title IX lawsuit work – Justin Dillon

In a Title IX case, should I talk to the school? Will the police use what I say against me? – Justin Dillon

Why would someone falsely accuse me of a Title IX violation – Justin Dillon

Why should I hire a Title IX lawyer if they can’t talk during the hearing? – Justin Dillon

Why do you do Title IX work? – Justin Dillon

How did you get involved in Title IX work? – Justin Dillon

Will hiring a Title IX lawyer make me look guilty? – Justin Dillon