In Arkansas this week, the state attorney general filed a brief in support of a state university that is battling a Title IX lawsuit in federal court filed by a former student who reported a rape. Arizona’s attorney general joined the filing.
A former University of Arkansas student filed a lawsuit last year alleging the school acted with "deliberate indifference" after she reported being raped by another student — and that violated Title IX, a federal law barring sex-based discrimination.
A judge refused to throw the case out, and the Arkansas attorney general filed a brief with the federal Appeals Court arguing that the state should not have to pay damages.
Arizona’s attorney general joined that brief, and Western New England University law professor and TItle IX expert Erin Buzuvis says this case is all about state vs. federal rights.
“You could still achieve a political benefit by saying that this was something that you fought for, against federal intrusion on state rights by joining litigation that pushed back on the application of federal civil rights law like Title IX,” Buzuvis said.
Arizona was one of six states that joined the Arkansas AG’s filing.
