Beyond the well-publicized tragedies at schools in Colorado (where Doug's firm, Bode & Grenier, served as lead counsel for the family of a math teacher who was brutally murdered), Arkansas and other states, there are numerous stories of violence suffered by students on college and high school campuses across the country.  Violence at school exists in many ways, and now, tragically, has reached school and childcare facilities serving pre-elementary school-aged children.  This violence exists in many forms, from individual acts involving weapons to organized acts of hazing, sexual assault, bullying, and harassment.

Each unique, often preventable, incident involves real pain and sadness, particularly for young people who have left home for the first time only to be terribly victimized.  Many of the cases involving sexual assault are perpetrated by acquaintances, who have exploited the victim's trust (or need to "belong"), used alcohol or drugs to disorient and disempower, or benefited from a lack of appropriate security or supervision on or around campus.  We have served as counsel in several civil cases of sexual assault involving student and very young victims, where clients were victimized at college, high school, boarding school, camp, local park, church, or during the minor's overnight stay in the "comfort" of a family friend's home).  Several relevant publications on these subjects worth reviewing include: Warshaw, R., I Never Called it Rape (Harper & Row 1988); Lindquist, S., The Date Rape Prevention Book, the Essential Guide for Girls & Women (Sourcebooks, Inc. 2000); Epstein, J., Sex, Drugs and Flunking Out, Answers to the Questions Your College Student Doesn't Want You to Ask (Hazelden 2001); Wechsler, H. & Wuethrich, D. Dying to Drink, Confronting Binge Drinking on College Campuses (Rodale 2002).

I particularly encourage you to review the information gathered and published by Security on Campus ("S.O.C.") (http://www.securityoncampus.org). S.O.C. and its dedicated founders and staff are true leaders in the fight to protect students and make schools safer. Additional information is available from the National School Safety Center ( http://www.nssc1.org/) .  Other information and statistics on campus crime are available from the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice.

Hazing is a crime that hurts, degrades and even kills numerous vulnerable students.  It is uniquely perpetrated through the use of overwhelming group pressure and coercion. “Making the team,” or successfully pledging a school/Greek organization, has always involved basic concepts which define our lives, such as acceptance, perseverance, worthiness, loyalty, success, rejection, failure, and fear.  For a young person, these are overwhelming influences too often exploited by groups controlling membership.  For the most comprehensive documentation of incidents of hazing, you may wish to consult Hank Nuwer's writings and his website, or the information on www.stophazing.org,

II. The Protection of Law

The law generally recognizes an individual’s right to be free from intentional and unpermitted physical contact by another, including contact which is intended to cause severe emotional distress.  Likewise, there is a general duty to conform one’s conduct to certain standards in order to protect others against unreasonable risks.  High schools, universities and student-membership organizations should provide students with safe learning and recreational environments, and take the steps necessary to reasonably prevent students from being victimized by crime, sexually or racially harassed, or hazed.  These principles of common law are general, vary from state to state, and may be affected or rendered inapplicable by numerous factors including specific state and federal statutes.  You should seek your own qualified counsel for advice as to the law applicable to your state and particular circumstances. Subject to the foregoing, you can review the case of Henley v. Prince George's County, 503 A.2d 1333 (Md. 1986) for a compelling example of how some of these principles were applied in Maryland to impose civil liability against a public college and other third-parties arising out of a tragic sexual assault and murder of a young child.  To see how the law may be used to hold landlords liable in certain situations (and some states) for failing to take reasonable steps to protect tenants from being physically or sexually assaulted, see Kline v. 1500 Mass. Ave. Apartment Corp., 439 F.2d 477 (D.C. Cir. 1970); Tenney v. Atlantic Associates, 594 N.W.2d 11 (Iowa 1999).  In certain situations, federal law applies and provides important protection and remedies.  Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court identified just how Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., is to be applied by Federal courts to protect students from, and hold federally funded schools liable for, sexual harassment by peers or teachers.  See Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 119 S.Ct. 1661 (1999). 

With respect to hazing by athletic teams, Greek or other organizations, the law differs from state to state just as it does for the above-discussed legal issues.  Many states (43 or so) have anti-hazing statutes (thanks, no doubt, to the admirable, ground-breaking efforts of Eileen Stevens following the death of her son).   These statutes play an important role in setting forth the proper public policy on this issue, since they contradict the worthless notions that hazing is or can be a legitimate rite of passage, or that young people who succumb to the pressures of classmates are just getting what they ask for or deserve.   These statutes have also had some measure of success in causing the prosecution of wrongdoers.  Nonetheless, most of these statutes only make hazing a low-grade misdemeanor, and many only criminalize conduct which causes severe physical injury (ignoring entirely those hazing activities which are intended to or are likely to cause psychological harm).  For an example of these sorts of differences, you may wish to compare the laws of Maryland and Alabama, Md. Ann. Code art. 27, § 268H (1996) and Ala. Code § 16-1-23 (1975), respectively.  The following cases and materials are instructive of the range of the legal principles at issue in civil hazing cases:  Oja v. Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc., 667 N.Y.S.2d 650 (S. Ct. Tompkins County 1998); Haben v. Anderson, 597 N.E.2d 655 (Ill. App. CT 1992); Jones v. Kappa Alpha Order, Inc., 730 So.2d 203 (Ala. 1998); Doty, D. Enough is Enough:   The Legal Responsibility of Public Schools and Universities to Prohibit Hazing 134 Ed.Law Rep. 423 (July 8, 1999). 

 I have represented numerous families whose loved ones have been raped, hazed, assaulted, severely emotionally harmed or killed, including families from California, Nevada, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Ohio, Mississippi, and other states. More detailed information (limited to material that is a matter of public record) about some of these cases may be found elsewhere on the site under "Nationwide Litigation." In one of the cases we have handled involving sexual assault, I represented a young woman who was brutally raped by "friends of a friend" when she was in high school. The prosecutor's refusal to pursue a criminal case was an emotionally devastating turn of events for the young woman since that decision was made after she found the strength to pursue criminal charges following an extended period of recovery. No doubt, the extended passage of time made proving her case difficult, particularly against her "friend" who allegedly used a ruse to get her out of her home and to a secluded site where the assault by others took place. I filed civil claims on her and her parents' behalf, ultimately helping her to take control, fight back and obtain a very favorable, confidential settlement.

I litigate (and advise clients) with a "team approach" to maximize expertise, capabilities, and varied experience. Another member of the team is my partner, Marian K. Riedy, who has twenty years of experience representing plaintiffs in cases arising from catastrophic personal injuries. Marian graduated from Harvard Law School, served as a volunteer for the D.C. Rape Crisis Center ("DCRCC") Hotline, was a member of the Board of Directors of DCRCC, and currently teaches interns and volunteers classes on "Civil Remedies for Victims of Sexual Abuse/Violence."  My other partner, Peter Grenier, has been identified as one of the top trial lawyers in the nation (his $98 Million verdict against the District of Columbia in a civil rights wrongful death claim is just one objective testament to his trial skills).  For matters handled in other states where we are not licensed, we apply for special admission to practice in the state pro hac vice and associate ourselves with qualified local counsel, often drawing upon our connections with legal advocates across the country through our membership in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America ("ATLA") and National Crime Victims Bar Association. I am a founder and co-chair of ATLA's litigation group: "Schools: Violence, Safety, and Misconduct."

V. Take Control

If you have been a victim of crime, hazing, sexual assault, or other serious injury at school, I hope you will have the courage to report this to the appropriate authorities, seek help and, ultimately, empower yourself by understanding your rights and options.  I hope the information contained in this site will contribute to your efforts.  Taking control over the resolution of a painful circumstance, often regardless of when, how or how much, can be a very important step. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns about this site or any other matter. You can email me at dfierberg@bode.com