Title IX Defense Lawyer New Jersey

A Title IX matter is an institutional proceeding. A college or university opens it, runs it under the school’s own policy, and decides it inside the institution; it is not a criminal case, and no prosecutor, judge, or jury takes part. That distinction matters, because both tracks can run at the same time over the same allegation while answering to different rules and different consequences. The federal regulations that shape campus procedure have been amended, challenged in court, and enjoined repeatedly, so the procedure governing a particular matter depends on the institution and the rules in force for that matter. This page does not state deadlines, standards, or hearing procedures, because they come from the school’s policy and the written notice the respondent received. Those documents control. Anyone facing a campus allegation should obtain both immediately and have counsel read them before responding. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York, and the firm has practiced criminal defense since 1997. Where a campus allegation also draws police attention in New Jersey, the criminal exposure is a separate matter. To request a consultation, call (888) 437-7747.

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A Campus Proceeding and a Criminal Case Are Not the Same Matter

A school opens a campus matter because someone reported conduct to the institution. The institution then applies its own policy: how notice is given, who investigates, what form the decision takes, and what review, if any, follows are set by that policy and by whatever rules the institution was operating under when the matter began. Because the governing federal regulations have been rewritten and litigated repeatedly, policies differ between institutions and sometimes between matters at the same institution. The reader’s own policy document and written notice supply the procedure that applies, and this page does not.

The consequences also differ from criminal consequences. What a school can impose comes from its authority as an institution and can reach enrollment, housing, athletic participation, or employment. It does not include a criminal record. A campus finding is not a conviction, and a campus outcome does not resolve a criminal allegation.

The criminal side is New Jersey law. New Jersey has no offense named rape. Conduct described that way in ordinary speech is charged under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2, which defines aggravated sexual assault, a crime of the first degree, and sexual assault, a crime of the second degree. N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3 covers aggravated criminal sexual contact, a crime of the third degree, and criminal sexual contact, a crime of the fourth degree. Whether any charge is brought is a decision made outside the school, by the State.

The practical link between the tracks is the record. A respondent writes emails, answers questions, and submits statements in the campus process, and that material exists once it is created. A student who treats the process as an informal conversation with an administrator is still building a written file. Decisions about what to say in a campus proceeding are made with the criminal exposure in view, not after it.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

The work starts with the documents rather than with argument. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys ask for the written notice the institution sent, the policy that applies, and anything the respondent has already submitted or signed. Until those are in hand, no one can say what procedure governs a given matter.

Reading the policy answers the questions that matter early: what the institution says it is examining, what it says it will do next, and what role the policy allows an advisor to play. Institutions differ on that last point, and a policy that permits an advisor to attend may not permit that advisor to speak. Knowing which it is changes how preparation is done.

The chronology comes next. Campus allegations usually involve people who know each other and a record made across messages, social media, and third-party accounts. That material is easier to preserve early than to reconstruct after a semester has passed, and the respondent is often the only person who knows it exists.

Where police involvement exists or appears likely, the criminal exposure drives the sequencing. What is said, written, or agreed to in a campus process does not disappear because the forum was a campus, so the criminal analysis comes before the campus response is drafted, not after.

Clients are told plainly what is known, what is not, and what depends on the policy in force for their matter. The firm does not describe outcomes it cannot control, and it does not tell a client what a school will decide.

Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys

Mr. Sris is the Owner and Founder of the firm and a former prosecutor. He founded the practice in 1997 and concentrates in criminal defense, and he is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.

As a former prosecutor, he reads an allegation by asking what evidence supports each piece of it and how the record was assembled, which is the same question a campus report has to answer. A respondent preparing for a school process while a police report may exist needs both handled by the same reading of the file.

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys divide campus and criminal work according to what a matter needs. What the firm can do inside a school proceeding is limited by the institution’s policy, and the firm says so at the start. What it can do without that limitation is advise the client, prepare the written material, and defend the New Jersey criminal case if one is brought.

Meetings at the firm’s locations are by appointment, and the firm staffs a 24/7 phone intake. If a notice has arrived from a school, bring it to the first conversation. The policy it refers to should come with it. Request a consultation. Call (888) 437-7747.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Title IX proceeding a criminal case?

No. It is an institutional proceeding. The school opens it and decides it under its own policy. There is no prosecutor, no judge, and no jury, and the result is not a conviction. What a school can impose comes from its authority over enrollment, housing, and employment. A criminal case, if one exists, is brought by the State. Both can involve the same allegation at the same time, which is why decisions in one are made with the other in view.

What procedure will my school follow?

That depends on the institution and on the rules in force for the matter, and this page does not state it. The federal regulations governing campus procedure have been amended, litigated, and enjoined repeatedly, so a description written for one moment can be wrong for the next. The documents that control are the school’s own policy and the written notice sent to the respondent. Obtain both and have counsel read them. Procedure comes from those documents, not from a general page.

Can what I say in the campus process affect a criminal case?

The campus process creates a written record. Emails, submissions, interview notes, and answers given to the institution exist once they are made, and they do not become private because the forum was a campus. Where a police report exists or may be made, the criminal exposure is considered before anything is submitted. In New Jersey, the charges that can parallel a campus allegation appear in N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2 and N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3. That is the reason to involve counsel early.

Can a lawyer attend the school’s proceeding with me?

That is set by the institution’s own policy, and policies differ. Some allow an advisor to attend, some limit what an advisor may say, and the answer for a given matter is found in the document the school applies to that matter. The firm reads the policy before describing what role it can play. Whatever the policy allows, counsel can advise the client, help prepare written material, and handle any criminal exposure that exists alongside the campus matter.

The notice from my school gives me a date to respond. What should I do?

Treat the date in the notice as real, and do not look for a deadline on this or any other general page. This page does not state campus deadlines, because they come from the policy and the notice in a particular matter rather than from a rule that can be stated for everyone. Bring the notice and the policy to counsel promptly, because reading them determines the date and what a response should contain. A response prepared without reading them is written blind.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Attorney responsible for this advertising: Mr. Sris.