FACE FACE is the country’s best-known organization advocating for change in how schools handle sexual assault cases. It is a network of families who have been through the campus sexual misconduct process as well as friends of those families. FACE is a frequent first stop for families who are going through the trauma of a…

People accused of sexual assault charges on college campuses generally don’t find any sympathy for their due process rights in the U.S. Department of Education, from their schools, or from public opinion. But the courts are increasingly giving relief to men who have had their rights trampled. Of course, getting to court is expensive. Sometimes…

The consequences of being found responsible are dramatic. First, it will disrupt the current semester and derail your immediate plans. Second, it will radically alter the course of your future. We are constantly surprised when our clients tell us that they can’t prepare for a hearing that may decide whether they are expelled because they…

You have the right to have an “adviser of your choice” with you in a campus disciplinary proceeding. Of course, that adviser can be a lawyer, which is what we recommend if you are able to afford one. If not, choose your adviser carefully. Your adviser can make a big difference in your case. In…

QUESTIONS FOR YOU In a disciplinary hearing, you should be prepared to answer questions about what happened. Recruit people—your parents, your friends, or anyone you trust—to ask you questions about what happened that night. Ask them to tell you how they think you reacted when you answer. Your ability to handle questions will improve with…

In a growing number of cases, we see claims that a sexual encounter was not consensual because the accuser claims to have been so intoxicated that she was unable to consent. Frankly, these are hard cases. The line between merely being intoxicated and incapacitated—so intoxicated that you can’t consent—is not finely drawn in criminal courts,…

If you lose your hearing and are sanctioned, just about every school gives you the right to an appeal. Generally, you are given very narrow grounds on which to appeal. You’re also normally only given a matter of days to file an appeal. Some schools even impose a page count on how long an appeal…

No one thinks, “I have a mental health problem, so I need to hire a lawyer.” Yet, much of the time, lawyers wind up serving this function. In general, lawyers are bad, expensive therapists. We bill by the hour and are often better at arguing than empathizing. But we’ve seen enough students and families in…

The U.S. Department of Education has said that a college is obligated to keep an accuser separate from the person she is accusing, based solely on the fact that she is bringing the charge. Schools can face scrutiny from the government and from the accuser herself if they aren’t seen as doing enough on this…