Why Are English Professors Adjudicating Sexual Assault Cases?

Last week on
The Independents, Reason
contributor Thaddeus Russell—who teaches at Occidental College,
ground zero for
campus rape politics—joined panelist Remi Spencer (a defense
attorney and former prosecutor) to discuss a
proposal by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Claire
McCaskill (D-Missouri) to have the federal government spend an
additional $100 million-plus to combat sexual assault on
campus.

This is the kind of subject tailor-made for simplistic,
finger-wagging politics—what kind of moral monster
wouldn’t want to reduce campus rape?—but at The
Independents, as at Reason, we are always interested
in unintended consequences and individual rights, and do not take
at face value the moral superiority of those who would spend our
money and enable prosecutors (including de facto prosecutors with
zero track record of criminal investigation). Take a look:

The classic treatment of this topic is Cathy Young’s January
cover story, “Guilty
Until Proven Innocent: How the government encourages kangaroo
courts for sex crimes on campus.” One of many reasons you
should subscribe to
Reason today!