Posted on 09/16/2015 8:01:52 AM PDT by TroutStalker
Congressman Jared Polis wrote in a column Tuesday that he "misspoke" last week when he suggested colleges should be able to expel students accused of sexual assault even if they're innocent.
"If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people," the Boulder Democrat said Thursday at a subcommittee meeting about preventing rape on campus.
"We're not talking about depriving them of life or liberty; we're talking about them being transferred to another university, for crying out loud."
In a piece published online Tuesday by the Daily Camera and on Medium.com, Polis called his remarks "a major gaffe" that "went too far."
But he did not apologize for arguing last week that colleges may be wise to use a "preponderance of evidence" standard — a lower threshold than criminal courts would use — in deciding whether to punish or expel a student.
For one, that practice is already in place. As Polis notes in his column, the Department of Education required four years ago that schools use a standard based on preponderance of evidence to rid campuses of alleged sexual assailants.
The comments last week for which Polis has apologized were aimed at a witness who was arguing that cases of campus sexual assault should be handled by the criminal justice system, as other crimes are.
"This is a deeply dangerous idea that demonstrates a cursory and superficial understanding of the issue," Polis reiterated in his column.
"There are very important reasons why colleges and universities currently have jurisdiction over assaults that occur on campuses, and why the process is separate from the criminal justice system," he wrote. "In my effort to defend this practice, I went too far, and I regret that my remarks have detracted from the substance of this debate."
The criminal justice system, he wrote, has for decades been "woefully inadequate" in its service to survivors of sexual assault. Polis notes that, for starters, only about 20 percent of victims of campus attacks go to the police for help, "citing things like not thinking it's important enough, not wanting others to know, not having proof, fearing retaliation and being uncertain about whether what happened constitutes sexual assault."
Polis also argued that the justice system moves too slowly to substantively help sexual assault victims, and added that colleges have a "unique obligation" to adjudicate these cases because of Title IX, which bars sexual discrimination at federally funded schools.
Title IX paved the way for victim accommodations such as changes in dorm or class schedule, or requiring the alleged assailant to keep a distance — all of which are aimed at making a safer campus for those who say they were attacked.
In a statement Tuesday, University of Colorado Title IX Coordinator Valerie Simons said adjudicating sexual assault complaints "requires a balance of campus safety and due process."
"It's paramount that the process is fair to both respondents and complainants," she added.
Title IX litigator Baine Kerr, whose Boulder firm represents the woman who accused NFL quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault while he was at Florida State University, said Polis' remarks last week, though indelicate, offer a necessary counter to the generally "profound misunderstanding" of what's really happening around the issue on campuses.
"The purpose here is not to determine guilt for a crime and then to convict and punish the wrongdoer," Kerr said. "The purpose is to make campuses safe. It's an entirely different purpose. As the congressman said in that statement, you're not talking about life and liberty. You're talking about removing someone who poses a risk to the physical safety of students because there is an obligation on the part of schools to have a safe campus."
Kerr applauded Polis for arguing against colleges referring sexual assault cases to police.
"In many places, it's the norm that the criminal justice system does a terrible job with sex assault," he said. "That includes the police and the prosecutors. To say that schools should stay hands-off and allow the criminal justice system to do what it does best — well, it doesn't do it best. It does a very poor job."
Kerr took issue, however, with Polis suggesting last week that having accused assailants transfer schools would be a preferred solution.
The congressman did not address that comment in his column, even though experts argue that schools dumping such students on peer institutions does not lower the risk of recidivism. As the University of Michigan reports, the strongest indicator of future sexual violence is previous sexual violence.
"It's going to follow that student to other schools," Kerr said. "The implication that they can go to school elsewhere and be normal — I don't think that's an accurate assumption to begin with."
Subway Jaris likes young girls - Bad
Jaris Polesmoker likes young boys - Good
Translation: “I’m sorry I’m an idiot.”
Jaris?
“If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people,”
—Polis
“Better than ten innocent men should suffer than one spy get away.”
-Yezhov (Soviet NKDV purge chief]
Democrats have been well-indoctrinated in communist philosophy. And most of them don’t even know it.
Jaris Poled? Jared Polis?
If there are 10 politicians who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all politicians.
No...Jared meant what he said when he pushed the notion of punishing innocents, just to ensure no guilty got away.
He’s only “sorry” because political strategists told him it was a bad PR move.
DIMS hate due process.
Except for themselves.
Polis meant what he said originally.
He just didn’t like the response.
Libertarian Colorado elected this gay maroon
Jaris D. Pole ... from Warsaw?
Since 80% of homosexuals were molested as children, Jared, unwittingly, revealed his attitude on possible sexual assault.
That’s what they have been doing. The male is always guilty and has no recourse. All this because the raging fangtooth feminazis have everyone scared.
No, he’s not an idiot.
He simply said, publicly, what Progressives are saying behind closed doors. AND are quietly implementing.
He’s not backing away out of either fear, let alone regret. He’s backing off because having put the stuff out publicly (and gauged the reaction to it) he can now back away to a position of safety.
IOW a variation of a trial balloon. Expect that “progress” towards what he promoted will continue, but with more open acknowlegement and championship of it.
Good points.
All of that having been said, he’s also an idiot.
“For crying out loud” what jerk.
a jerk.
All of those should apply to the accused as well, but instead they're not to be afforded any Constitutional protections and their reputations are destroyed.
Polis is the representative of my district. I am working to get him replaced. Unfortunately, the district is heavily influence by leftist. So until he is replaced, I will apologize to the rest of America for sending this idiot to Congress.
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