Title IX Investigation Vs. Criminal Charges in Hartford

If you are accused of sexual harassment and/or violence against someone else at your Connecticut college or university, you may wind up facing both Title IX and criminal investigations and sanctions from both your school’s Title IX Office and from state legal authorities, both of which are matters our Title IX attorneys can help you manage.  So you can have at least a basic understanding of what you might experience when involved in the former type of proceeding as a respondent or in the latter as a defendant, here is an overview of the key differences in Title IX investigations versus criminal charges in Hartford.

Guaranteed Rights

Everyone accused of a criminal offense in Connecticut has certain rights guaranteed to them by the United States Constitution, including the right to have legal representation, the right to have an attorney assigned to them if they cannot afford private counsel, and the right to remain silent without that silence being interpreted in an incriminating way.  Conversely, although individual schools often outline respondent rights in their student codes of conduct and are required to conduct proceedings in a fair and impartial manner, there are no constitutionally guaranteed rights for respondents in Title IX proceedings.

Investigative and Trial Procedures

Broadly speaking, Title IX investigations and criminal charges in Hartford both involve authorities conducting independent investigations into allegations of wrongdoing, reviewing evidence during a formal hearing, and potentially issuing sanctions against someone found guilty of violating the law. Once again, though, criminal trials are subject to much stricter rules about how and when trials should be conducted, while Title IX disciplinary proceedings are largely left up to individual schools.

Admissible Evidence

To reiterate, people named as respondents in Title IX complaints do not necessarily have the right to remain silent or the right to avoid self-incrimination when being interviewed about their alleged offense, which is a stark difference from how criminal investigators and prosecutors must conduct themselves. Along similar lines, Title IX cases in Hartford can sometimes swing one way or the other based on subjective opinion.  Outright hearsay is allowed in Title IX hearings, as opposed to limitations to hearsay that exist in criminal trials, largely because of what the next section details.

Standards of Proof

In order to convict someone on criminal charges, prosecutors in the Connecticut court system must establish a person’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, meaning that a judge or a jury must be convinced that the defendant did in fact commit the alleged offense. Title IX investigators, on the other hand, generally only have to prove the veracity of a complaint based on a preponderance of the evidence, which is comparatively a much easier bar to clear.  In other words, they must prove that the respondent more likely than not committed the offense.

Potential Penalties

Finally, the possible outcomes of a Title IX investigation in Hartford compared to a criminal case differ in both scope and severity. Title IX offices can only recommend sanctions that an individual school can impose on someone outside of the legal system, such as loss of on-campus privileges, suspension, or expulsion/termination of employment. Criminal judges, however, can pass down sentences upon conviction which may include lengthy terms of probation, mandatory counseling and/or community service, steep monetary fines, and even jail or prison time.

A Hartford Attorney Can Answer Questions About Title IX Investigations and Criminal Charges

Obviously, this is far from a comprehensive summary of every single distinction between Title IX investigations and criminal charges in Hartford. What it should make clear, though, is that a strategy tailored for one of these two cases may not be perfectly applicable to the other, and in some cases may even be actively detrimental.

That is just one reason among many others why having the support of an experienced Title IX lawyer can be vital to handling both these proceedings as effectively as possible. Call Mark Sherman Law today for a consultation, or click here to visit our Avvo.com profile and read verified reviews from past clients.