Former Occidental College Student Is Granted Request to Hold the College in Contempt

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 25, 2014

On March 21, 2014, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin granted a former Occidental College student's request for a hearing to hold the college in contempt for disobeying a court order. The former student, identified only as John Doe, is challenging Occidental College's disciplinary process under its new Sexual Misconduct Policy. According to the student's writ petition, students who are accused of sexual misconduct at Occidental are denied basic legal protections such as the presumption of innocence, the right to an attorney, the right to a fair and impartial hearing, and the right to confront their accusers. On February 19, 2014, Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant had ordered Occidental College to stay its sanctions against the student while the court reviews the student's petition. The student claims that Occidental has disobeyed that court order by threatening to report the sanctions to other schools where the student is applying to transfer. Judge Lavin scheduled the contempt hearing for April 22, 2014, in the matter of John Doe v. Occidental College.