A UC Berkeley alumnus has filed a lawsuit against the University of California, alleging that the university violated Title IX due process statutes. 

The alumnus, who chose to remain anonymous in the pleading, was dismissed from the university in June 2021 due to allegations of nonconsensual sexual intercourse. This decision was reimposed in February this year following an appeal hearing, according to the pleading. 

Following the reimposition of the dismissal, the accused appealed a second time in April and was again denied a reversal, according to legal documents. 

“I am upholding the decision made by the Center for Student Conduct,” said campus Division of Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Stephen C. Sutton in the petition. “At this time this matter is closed and there is no further right to appeal.”

As of press time, campus has declined to comment on this issue, citing the fact that the litigation is pending. 

According to Mark Hathaway, an attorney representing the petitioner, the proceedings will not be held with witnesses, but will rather be conducted as an appeals process. 

“In the same way a court might review a zoning decision by the city council…the court reviews the decisions made by a governmental agency,” Hathaway said. “Take Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, someone’s going to appeal. They’ll take a whole record of what happened at the trial and send it to the court of appeals and make arguments that the court or jury did something wrong.”

The accused also alleged in the petition that the university has a “history” of not following due process protections for accused students. Hathaway alleged that the university administrators “usually get it wrong” when it comes to decisions of discipline. 

Hathaway said the entire process may take up to nine months.