Doe v. Blake Sch.

310 F. Supp. 3d 969
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedMay 7, 2018
DocketCivil No. 18–919 (JRT/KMM)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 310 F. Supp. 3d 969 (Doe v. Blake Sch.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Blake Sch., 310 F. Supp. 3d 969 (D. Me. 2018).

Opinion

BACKGROUND

I. THE PARTIES

John Doe1 is a mixed-race student attending The Blake School. (Compl. ¶ 2, *973Apr. 2, 2018, Docket No. 1.) He has worked as a camp counselor at Blake since he was 11, and has been involved in coaching youth sports. (Declaration of John Doe ("Doe Decl.") ¶ 4, Apr. 11, 2018, Docket No. 14.) Doe, a senior, has attended Blake since kindergarten, and has received significant financial aid during the course of his enrollment. (Decl. of Joseph Ruggiero ("Ruggiero Decl.") ¶¶ 6-7, Apr. 20, 2018, Docket No. 27.) Doe believes that he will not be able to afford to attend college without a scholarship. (Doe Decl. ¶ 8.) In part through his involvement in sports at Blake, Doe earned a full Division I athletic scholarship. (Id. ¶ 6).

The Blake School is a private prekindergarten through 12th grade school in Hopkins with roughly 1,375 students. (Compl. ¶¶ 3, 7.) Because Blake receives some federal funding, it is subject to Title VI and Title IX. (See id. ¶¶ 8, 15, 108.) Blake stresses its commitment to pluralism, noting that 30% of its students identify as students of color and 22% of its students receive financial aid. (Ruggiero Decl. ¶ 5.) According to Doe, however, only 1.7% of Blake's upper school students are African-American males. (Decl. of Robert Bennett ("Bennett Decl.") ¶ 3, Apr. 23, 2018, Docket No. 33.)

II. THE DANCE

On Saturday, February 10, 2018, Doe and 20 to 25 other students drank at a classmate's house and rode a bus to a school dance at Blake.2 (Compl. ¶¶ 42-44.) The dance was staffed by two Blake administrators, a Hopkins police officer, and adult volunteers. (Decl. of Mike Canfield ("Canfield Decl.") ¶¶ 4, 7, Apr. 20, 2018, Docket No. 22.) Students entered through a single point of access, where adults checked to see if they had brought prohibited items or appeared intoxicated. (Id. ¶ 5.) Students were required to arrive between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. (Id. ¶ 6.) Doe and the other students arrived at 8:45 p.m., took off their shoes, and danced. (Compl. ¶¶ 45-46.)

According to Doe, he "danced by jumping up and down, grinding, and twerking for approximately an hour with no objection from Blake staff." (Id. ¶ 47.) Doe says that, at one point, a girl pressed up behind him and he danced with her for a few moments before she walked away; then, as he went to get a drink of water, her friend told him that the way he had danced was inappropriate. (Id. ¶¶ 49-51.) Doe ignored her and went to a photo booth with his friends. (Id. ¶ 52.)

According to Blake, several freshmen girls approached freshman class dean Jeanette Vance to report that Doe had grabbed one of them ("Student A") inappropriately and that they believed that he had been drinking. (Decl. of Jeanette Vance ("Vance Decl.") ¶ 4, Apr. 20, 2018, Docket No. 28.) Specifically, Student A, who is African-American, alleged to Vance that Doe approached her, told her that he liked that she knew the words to the song that was playing, grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close, moved his hands down her hips, and then "moved his hands all the way down her crotch and grabbed her vagina area." (Id. ¶¶ 6-8.) The student and her friends moved to the other side of the dance floor; it is alleged that Doe followed them and again grabbed Student A by the crotch. (Id. ¶ 8.) It was further alleged that the student's two friends told Doe to stop and pushed him away from Student A, he put his arms around one of them ("Student B"), began grinding against her from behind, and held her even as she tried to push him away. (Id. ¶¶ 9, *97415-16.) Eventually Doe moved away; the girls then left the dance floor and reported him to Vance. (Id. )

These divergent narratives reunify when Doe was confronted by sophomore class dean Mike Canfield, who took him into a classroom to meet Vance and Officer Leland Coleman. (Compl. ¶ 53; Canfield Decl. ¶¶ 4, 9-10.) Canfield told Doe that one or more students had complained about unwelcome touching,3 that faculty suspected he was drinking, and that he would have to take a breathalyzer test. (Compl. ¶¶ 54-55; Canfield Decl. ¶¶ 11, 14; Vance Decl. ¶ 13.) According to Blake, Doe denied that he would put his scholarship at risk by drinking and stated his view that he was being singled out because he was black. (Canfield Decl. ¶¶ 12-13; Vance Decl. ¶¶ 11-13.) Doe ran from the classroom without his shoes or coat, and, with Canfield and Coleman after him, was quickly apprehended. (Compl. ¶¶ 56-57; Canfield Decl. ¶¶ 15-16; Vance Decl. ¶ 13.) Doe voluntarily got into a police car and was taken back to the school. (Compl. ¶ 58; Canfield Decl. ¶ 16.) When Coleman opened the door to give him a breath test, Doe again ran. (Compl. ¶¶ 59-60; Canfield Decl. ¶ 17.) He surrendered when an officer pointed a weapon at him and ordered him to stop. (Compl. ¶ 60; Canfield Decl. ¶ 17.) Doe was eventually released to his mother's custody. (Compl. ¶ 61.)

Doe's mother spoke with senior class dean Shawn Reid twice that evening. According to Doe, Reid told her that Doe was believed to have groped a girl at the dance but that she should not worry about it, because Doe "wasn't doing anything different than anyone else." (Id. ¶¶ 62-66.) According to Reid, he told Doe's mother that he was suspected of drinking, "that he was accused of grabbing the crotch of one or more girls," and that he had run from police. (Decl. of Shawn Reid ("Reid Decl.") ¶ 8, Apr. 20, 2018, Docket No. 25.) According to Doe, an officer told Doe's mother that law enforcement was only interested in Doe's drinking and flight from police and was not investigating the groping allegation. (Compl. ¶ 68.)

III. THE ADJUDICATION

Blake's handbook sets out a policy for investigating and adjudicating harassment, including allegations of sexual misconduct. (Compl. ¶ 26, Ex. 1 at 43-45, Apr. 2, 2018, Docket No. 1-1.) Specifically, it defines sexual harassment to include "[u]nwelcome touching in any form" and "[p]hysical assault," and warns that sexual harassment "may result in warnings, suspensions or immediate dismissal of a student." (Id. at 44.) The handbook describes Blake's commitment to a full review of complaints, a "thorough and fair" investigation, and "compassionate and confidential" proceedings.4 (Id. ) Harassment is considered a *975"major infraction," consequences for which "usually include suspension or expulsion." (Id. at 42.)

The handbook also outlines Blake's disciplinary procedures for major infractions. (Id. at 42-43.) It states that students will be informed of the alleged infractions and asked to present an explanation in a meeting with their grade dean. (Id. at 42.) The grade dean will consult with the upper school director to determine how discipline will be handled; from there, the process is at the discretion of the administration. (Id. ) Final authority for discipline rests with the upper school director unless expulsion is being considered, in which case it rests with the head of school. (Id. at 43.) A Community Judiciary Board ("CJB") may be tasked with making recommendations. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
310 F. Supp. 3d 969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-blake-sch-med-2018.