Doe v. Alger

Federal Magistrate Recommends James Madison University Pay $850,000 In CIR Case

A federal magistrate judge has recommended that James Madison University pay nearly $850,000 in attorney’s fees for CIR’s case defending a JMU student who was suspended without due process. A university panel initially found the student, accused of sexual assault, not guilty. But thanks to a one-sided appeals system used by the university, a secret faculty panel found the him guilty without giving him the chance to respond to all the evidence or accusations.

In cooperation with lead counsel Gentry Locke, CIR represented the accused student and sued JMU for violating his right to due process. In December of 2017, we won a landmark victory in federal court. Judge Elizabeth Dillon, an Obama appointee, thought that JMU’s idea of due process was so unfounded that their position, taken to “logical conclusion would allow a public institution to take a student’s tuition and housing money and then expel him on the second day for no reason whatsoever, and the student would not have any ‘enforceable’ right to recourse.”

Despite the fact that JMU’s policies were clearly unconstitutional, it persisted in defending its actions with expensive litigation until Judge Dillon ruled against them.