New Hearing Ordered for Brown University Student Accused of Sexual Assault

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A federal judge says Brown University must hold a new disciplinary hearing for a student who said he was wrongly accused of sexual assault and suspended for two years.

U.S. District Court Judge William Smith this week said the Ivy League university in Rhode Island breached its contract with the student identified as John Doe. Among the issues was that Brown used a different definition of “consent” than the one in place at the time of the encounter.

Smith says nothing in his decision prevents Brown from retrying Doe. He stressed he wasn’t addressing whether Doe was responsible.

A Brown spokesman says Doe is still enrolled at Brown but not taking classes there this semester. If Doe decides to return, he says Brown will decide whether “further action is needed.”