Disciplined Student
Narratives in Campus Sexual Assault Discourse
Kelly Behre, University
of California, Davis, School of Law
The power of
narrative in the campus anti-sexual assault moment is undeniable. At the core
of the campus anti-sexual assault movement were student survivors who shared
their personal stories.
This Article examines disciplined
student narratives from campus sexual assault cases and their role in the
public discourse about campus sexual assault. Part 1 provides an overview of
the role of narrative in social movements and public discourse. Part II
introduces the disciplined student narrative in campus sexual assault discourse
and identifies themes in the narrative, including the shift in the focus to the
disciplined students’ experience and claim to the role of victim. It further
identifies the use of an incomplete legal history to more favorably frame the
problem as a new one and the conflation of harm and proportionality with the
campus sexual assault survivor narratives. Part III connects the disciplined
student narrative to broader narratives defending individual rights, including the
concern of federal overreach, decreased free speech on campuses, and
diminishing due process.
Meaningful Due Process
for America’s Disabled Veterans
Hugh McClean,
University of Baltimore School of Law
Scholars have used the term “veterans law exceptionalism” to describe
the anomalous legal principles and practices that the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) employs to adjudicate veterans’ benefits claims. More than a
decade ago, the Federal Circuit held that veterans’ disability benefits are
nondiscretionary, statutorily mandated benefits, and that such entitlement to
benefits is a property interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the
Fifth Amendment. However, defining due process for veterans has largely been
left to the discretion of the VA. This article examines two of the most serious
consequences of this limited form of due process for veterans: challenging the
competency of VA medical examiners, and excessive delays in the VA benefits
system. Veterans have challenged the VA on these issues, but the VA has been
successful in defending veterans’ lawsuits because of the limited form of due
process that is applied in these cases. This article explores why traditional
principles of due process have not been applied to veterans law, and examines
new frameworks that would liberate veterans’ law from its constitutional morass
and would provide more meaningful due process for America’s
disabled veterans.