John Doe v. Occidental Coll.

*1006 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

John Doe (Doe) appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying his petition for writ of mandate. ( Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5.) He sought to set aside his expulsion from Occidental College after an outside adjudicator found he had sexually assaulted and engaged in non-consensual sexual contact with Jane Roe (Roe), another student. Doe contends he was denied a fair hearing and the decision was not supported by substantial evidence. For the reasons given below, we affirm the judgment.

I. Occidental's sexual misconduct policy

Occidental has a comprehensive policy (the policy) that prohibits "all forms of ... misconduct, including ... sexual assault" and "[n]on-[c]onsensual [s]exual [c]ontact." The policy, which applies to all members of the Occidental community, defines these terms and explains the concepts of consent and coercion.

Occidental's policy contains thorough procedures for adjudicating policy violations. Upon receipt of a report of a potential violation of the policy, Occidental may impose reasonable and appropriate interim measures to eliminate the hostile environment and protect the parties. Such measures include a…