Due process

Barrett wrote the majority opinion for the Due Process and Title IX case, Doe v. Perdue. The challenge was brought forth by a University of Perdue student accused of sexual assault which led to his loss of a Navy ROTC scholarship. To protect the identities of the students, they were called John and Jane Doe in the case. Jane Doe alleged that John had groped her and admitted to “digitally penetrating” her on a separate occasion, an allegation that John Doe denied to the school. The case was eventually dismissed by a lower court and Barrett questioned if the claims merited a quick dismissal or if the appeals court should order a closer look. Barrett said, “Purdue’s process fell short of what even a high school must provide to a student facing a days-long suspension,” meaning John’s 14th Amendment due process claim was legitimate. She further found that it was plausible Purdue had violated Title IX, the federal law the prevents sexual discrimination in education. She said that she was not determining the final outcome of the case and “the factfinder might not buy the inferences that [John is] selling” that the school disbelieved him because of his sex. “But his claim should have made it past the pleading stage.”