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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The women who filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Tennessee are asking the court to prevent an upcoming university hearing in one of the sexual assault cases listed in the lawsuit.
In a motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Nashville, the six unidentified women asked that UT not be allowed to use the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedure Act for the hearing of plaintiff "Jane Doe III," media outlets reported. The hearing would force the woman to travel from Nashville to Knoxville and to be subject to an "unlawful," arduous and unfair discipline process, the motion argued.
According to the lawsuit, the woman is the only one of the five plaintiffs who is not accusing an athlete of sexual assault. The accused in her case are an unidentified male UT student and two Tennessee State University students.
The federal lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Nashville, accuses UT of violating Title IX and other laws, and calls for the administrative process to no longer be used for sexual assault case, claiming the process is drawn out and doesn't comply with federal law.
The administrative process allows student cases to go before a university-appointed hearing officer, with representation by lawyers, instead of students going before a university board that would decide the case.
"Jane Doe III" was given alcohol while underage in October 2014 at a UT dorm by members of the football team, according to her case. She was later allegedly assaulted off campus.
According to Friday's motion, the lawyer representing the accuser in the administrative process — UT Assistant General Counsel Joshua Walker — cannot be impartial because his legal duty is first to UT. An administrative law judge, appointed by the university, with a potential conflict of interest and an unclear university policy are also listed as flaws according to the motion.
There are seven pending sexual assault cases at UT from the past three academic years using the administrative process, according to university data from October. This case and one other in the seven belong to plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit.
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