The original rulings of 17 campus sexual misconduct hearings overseen by former Director of Student Ethics Jason Casares will stand, IU announced Monday after a review process that began in mid-February.
Students involved in these cases were not interviewed during the review process. Instead, the review relied on interviews with Casares’ fellow panelists and hearing transcripts and audio recordings, IU spokesperson Mark Land said.
Parties in the 17 cases, all of which were heard during the 2015-2016 school year, have been informed of the review results, according to the release. The cases are now final and “no further action” will be taken by IU.
The review began with 18 cases, but during the review, one case had a successful appeal and therefore was not part of the review, IU spokesperson Mark Land said.
Land did not know which case out of the 18 was removed from the list.
Casares was put on administrative leave in early February after a complaint from a former colleague alleging that he sexually assaulted her.
[Read our initial coverage of the allegation of sexual assault against Jason Casares]
The University review, opened in early February, was conducted by IU law professor Julia Lamber. Lamber is a “recognized authority” on Title IX issues and “clearly qualified” to lead the review, Land said.
The IU Office of the Provost and IU General Counsel made the decision to have one person lead the review, Land said.
“We were trying to balance the need to be thorough and the desire to not drag this out,” Land said. “People want to know. The more people you get involved, the longer it takes.”
During her review, Lamber found Casares always sought the opinions of other panelists, and he did not make them feel “pressured into taking a particular position,” followed a “consistent process” and “thoroughly trained” other panelists on the hearing process.
In all cases but one, the hearing panel returned a unanimous decision.
“The University can trust the training [of its hearing officers] and the process,” Lamber wrote in the review, which was based on 17 cases dating back to August 2015, according to the release.
Lamber’s process was based on reading the entire case files and listening to the full audio recordings of each hearing associated with the 17 cases.
Every IU sexual misconduct hearing has a total of three panelists. Lamber interviewed the two people who worked with Casares to determine the “responsibility” of alleged suspects of misconduct, who are referred to as “respondents,” according to the release.
[Read about an IU freshman who filed a federal complaint against the Office of Student Ethics]
Lamber’s “thorough review” focused on Casares’ conduct in the hearings as well as his “interaction with the parties involved in each case” and his fellow panelists.
IU is “gratified,” Land said, because Lamber’s review validated the current sexual misconduct hearing system.
“A couple of the points that Julia made in her review was that our process was a good one, and that we were following the process,” Land said.
IU probably won’t alter its hearing process following this review, Land said. However, he said he doesn’t “want to speculate long-term.”
“We’re always looking for ways to strengthen what we do,” Land said.
