Student cleared of sexual misconduct allegation against fellow member of sports society

Louise O’Driscoll and Lily Nutbrown were recently instructed to represent a university student facing non-academic misconduct allegations, namely sexual misconduct.

Factual Summary

The student instructed the team, having already gone through the investigation process, including an interview with the University.  The student received confirmation that the case would progress to a panel hearing, and at this point, he decided to instruct a solicitor.

Louise placed the firm on record with the University; she used case law to support the fact that, given the seriousness of the allegation of sexual misconduct, the client should be afforded the right to legal representation. The University agreed.

The team was then given the date for the panel hearing, which allowed the team to have 10 working days to review the evidence pack, meet with the client, submit our evidence along with questions for the reporting party and their witnesses. Often in University cases, we are given a very short period to prepare the case, which is something Louise and her team deal with regularly and can work under tight time constraints.

The facts of the case involved a student alleging that our client had engaged in non-consensual intercourse with them after a sports society night out; in criminal terms, this is akin to rape. The client categorically denied that any sexual intercourse took place, and after several conferences with the client, we produced a lengthy response statement and supporting evidence to submit to the university. 

Unfortunately, the client hadn’t put forward any witnesses for the university to speak to during the investigation stage. We were able to quickly identify witnesses who supported his case and asked the University to speak to them before the hearing. Our clients’ witness evidence was allowed into the panel hearing.

After a conference with Louise and Lily, the client felt supported and ready for the panel hearing.

Panel hearing and outcome

On the day of the panel hearing, the client came to our head office to sit with Louise, who represented him in the panel.

The panel hearing lasted just under a day, and at the end of the day, the committee retired to consider their outcome. They returned to confirm there was no case to answer, and the client was cleared of the allegations.

Louise O’Driscoll regularly supports clients through the process of preparing the case, but she also represents them at the panel hearing, instead of instructing a barrister. We believe that the continuity in representation is important to the client, and building a rapport certainly benefits the process.

The student was very pleased with Louise and Lily’s services and is delighted to be allowed to continue studying at the university.

If you need advice or representation in a university misconduct case, contact us and ask for Louise O’Driscoll.