GA Lawmaker: Obama's Sexual Misconduct Investigation Policies Unfair to Accused

ATLANTA, GA — State Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights for its policy regarding sexual misconduct investigations at colleges and universities.

Ehrhart, who chairs the Georgia House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, filed the complaint along with his wife, Virginia Ehrhart, on behalf of state and federal taxpayers.

In the complaint, Ehrhart states that the enforcement of the “Dear Colleague” letter has resulted in the imposition of unnecessary costs at the expense of both federal and Georgia taxpayers under the threat of federal funding being revoked for the schools’ failure to comply.

Ehrhart has been a vocal critic of several sexual misconduct investigations at Georgia Tech.

“The illegal and unconstitutional directives issued in the Obama Administration’s ‘Dear Colleague’ letter have resulted in a clear disregard for the due process rights of male college students and fostered an environment of male gender bias on campuses throughout the country,” said Ehrhart. “I have seen firsthand how colleges and universities, intimidated by OCR’s threat to their federal funding, have set up kangaroo court systems to comply with the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional policies.

“It is unacceptable that state and federal taxpayers in this country continue to fund these mandates and their costs at higher education institutions.”

According to the complaint, the U.S. Department of Education issued in 2011 what has become known as the "Dear Colleague" letter to every college and university receiving federal funding, addressing their obligation under Title IX to respond to claims of sexual harassment and sexual violence.

The 19-page "Dear Colleague" letter contains guidance and directives on how schools are to address sexual assault and misconduct to comply with Title IX. The letter dictated that schools use a "preponderance of the evidence" standard rather than the “clear and convincing” standard.

The “preponderance of the evidence” standard is a less rigorous standard of proof required by the plaintiff.

The complaint says the administration has forced schools to set up a quasi-legal system to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct, but those policies themselves violate civil liberties and don't give accused students the due process protections.

“As parents, we are deeply concerned that our son, like any other male student, could be wrongly accused of sexual misconduct under these directives imposed by the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter,” said Ehrhart. “I have heard from many parents of accused male students and understand how unjust, devastating and life-changing the consequences can be.”

Ehrhart is represented by Andrew T. Miltenberg, Jeffrey Berkowitz, and Tara Davis of Nesenoff Miltenberg Goddard Laskowitz, LLP, as well as Jonathan Hawkins of Krevolin & Horst, LLC.