Opposition to Title IX changes ignores due process

Posted 12/18/18

This following is my response to the female Delaware House Democrats’ recent Letter to the Editor to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos:

Ms. Devos,

Recently, Delaware female House …

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Opposition to Title IX changes ignores due process

Posted
This following is my response to the female Delaware House Democrats’ recent Letter to the Editor to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: Ms. Devos, Recently, Delaware female House Democrats wrote you an open letter. This letter expressed their adversarial stance to the changes you proposed to Title lX. These legislators exhibited a fundamental acumen that is totally devoid of knowledge regarding the constitutional bedrock called due process. In this letter they essentially asked you to tone down and retract your proposed changes to Title IX. Their letter was entitled “Title lX changes could have chilling effects” The “chilling effect” mentioned by this honorable band of ladies is code for action that brings us back to due process. They do not want due process to apply to allegations of domestic violence nor allegations of campus sexual assault Moving forward, I would like to address two of the main deviations included in their letter: 1) Require schools to use the preponderance of evidence. On Aug. 28, 2012, in Delaware, Kent County Family Court Judge Lou Ann Vari would grant my serial false accuser a protection from abuse order — designating before God and the world that I was a perpetrator and she (ex-wife) was the victim. A few hours later the “victim” evidently was not satisfied with the civil action, would strip down to her underwear, on her partially clad body scratch herself with a sharp object and write with blue eye liner a terroristic note to herself. She would then lay down on the side of a road screaming that I and two unknown accomplices had done this to her. Fortuitously, I was wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle bracelet which showed three things: I, the accused, was innocent, the accuser was a liar, and Judge Lou Ann Vari (earlier that day) empowered a false allegations artist. This alleged victim would be arrested and charged with filing false police reports and lying to police. She would be convicted via a plea deal from the state of Delaware. When someone is accused of an assault this is a crime and should be treated as such. The standard should not be lowered to that of a civil action such as a slip and fall accident where the standard of evidence is “preponderance”. The preponderance of evidence has now been misinterpreted as allowing the mere allegation of abuse to serve as the preponderance of evidence standard. The accusation of an abusive act is a very serious matter and its effects can be devastating to the life of the falsely accused. On light of this, the standard should remain, “beyond a reasonable doubt”. 2). Discourage the use of cross examination in a hearing which can retraumatize victims. This one statement in and of itself shows the complete disdain that this honorable group of women, House Democrats, have for due process. Cross examination is the judicial act of protecting the right of both the accused and the accuser. It is unbelievable that a group of lawmakers would think this to be an appropriate stand to take. They would have you accept the mere unsubstantiated allegation as evidence. Any scrutiny of the alleged victim’s story, as we search for truth, is met with cries of retraumatization of the victim. This is an egregious method they use to protect a narrative at the expense of finding truth. We now have literally hundreds, if not thousands, of documented cases of women lying about sexual and domestic violence. I call upon you Ms DeVos to resist the demands of these enemies of due process, who would have us regress to a gendered lynch mob form of justice. Resist their attempts to redefine truth and justice!

Gordon Smith Port Orange, Florida, formerly of Felton

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