Knight v. S. Orange Cmty. Coll. Dist.

60 Cal.App.5th 854

275 Cal.Rptr.3d 139

Marcus KNIGHT, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.SOUTH ORANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT et al., Defendants and Appellants.

G058644

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California.

Filed February 10, 2021

Walsh & Associates and Dennis J. Walsh, Woodland Hills, for Defendants and Appellants.

Hathaway Parker, Mark M. Hathaway, Glendive, and Jenna E. Parker, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

BEDSWORTH, ACTING P. J.

INTRODUCTION

Cultural evolution works faster than physical evolution. The body politic changes more rapidly than the body, and sometimes the swiftness of that change can be difficult for established institutions. Organizations that have functioned successfully for a long time doing things one way may find it difficult to adjust to new realities. In this case we deal with the efforts of an educational institution to deal with such changes. We conclude it complied with the law.

Saddleback College and Juan Avalos, vice-president of Saddleback's student services and its Title IX officer, appeal from a judgment granting the petition of Marcus Knight, a Saddleback student, for a writ of mandamus.¹ Knight petitioned the court regarding discipline imposed on him after two female students complained that he was following them, taking photos of one of them on his phone, and touching them. Knight has multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy and autism, which have complicated his experience at Saddleback.

In March 2018, Knight received a letter from Avalos stating that he was "suspended" – that is, barred from classes and campus activities. It appears, however, that he was allowed to attend classes anyway, while he contested the suspension. Eventually the potential suspension was dropped, and a written disciplinary reprimand was placed in his student record instead.

In the trial court, Knight based his mandamus petition on the ground that the college did not afford him due process before it suspended him. By due process, he did not mean notice and an opportunity to be heard, both of which he had. He meant a hearing during which he or his counsel could confront and cross-examine witnesses. The trial court granted the writ petition on that basis.

Unquestionably, a student is entitled to some form of hearing and witness confrontation before he or she can be suspended or expelled. The question before us is whether Knight was entitled to the same level of due process before a written reprimand could be placed in his student record, if he suffered no other official detriment.

We conclude that he was not entitled to this level of due process. The parties have not presented us with any authority on point, and we have found none. We have concluded that requiring a trial-like hearing before Saddleback could issue a written reprimand places too great a burden on the college when compared to the minor detriment to Knight. He received notice of the charges against him, and he had an opportunity to respond – several opportunities, in fact. Had the suspension gone forward, he would have had the hearing he feels he was entitled to. But it did not go forward, and he received a much lower level of discipline. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment for Knight and direct the trial court to enter judgment for appellants.

FACTS

South Orange County Community College District's administrative regulation No. 5401 governs standards of student conduct. It lists the activities for which students can be disciplined, among which are violations of district regulations. Administrative regulation No. 4000.5 prohibits "harassment," including "physical harassment." "Physical harassment" means not only inappropriate touching but also "physical interference with free movement."

Regulation No. 4000.5 also defines the complaint procedure, which can be either informal or formal. "The informal resolution process is intended to allow an individual who believes he or she has been harassed to resolve the issue through an informal or mediation process rather than the formal complaint process. A complainant may wish to select the informal process when there is a simple misunderstanding or the complainant does not wish to file a formal complaint. Examples of informal complaint resolutions include clarification of a misunderstanding or an apology from the respondent and his or her assurance that he or she will cease the offending behavior."

On October 4, 2017, Knight and his mother, Aurora Knight, met with two Saddleback administrators regarding a complaint by a female student-worker, N.R., that Knight was following her around campus, trying to put his arm around her shoulder and her hand on his thigh, and invading her personal space. The matter was informally resolved, at N.R.'s request, with a mutual no-contact order, memorialized in a letter dated October 11. N.R. explained that she understood Knight's disability accounted for his conduct and she did not want to get him into trouble. Nevertheless, she wanted Knight to stop following her.

Notwithstanding the informal resolution and the no-contact order, as of October 16 Knight was still following N.R. and disrupting her work. He was peering into the staff lounge, and he made her afraid to go there alone. She was afraid to walk on campus alone and had colleagues walk with her. She "no longer want[ed] to be on campus because [she must] be escorted from place to place[.]" She considered calling in sick to work to avoid Knight.

Knight apologized in a letter to N.R. dated October 18 and at another meeting with school officials on October 19.² In his letter, Knight described himself as a "very lonely and depressed" person who just wanted to "make friends." Aurora Knight arranged for her son to have an attendant accompany him to classes beginning the following week. The record does not contain any further complaints by N.R.

Administrative regulation No. 4000.5 provides: "The District is committed to maintaining a safe and harassment free educational environment and may determine that serious allegations may need to be investigated even if the complaining party considers the matter resolved. The District may also determine that the complaint will no longer be held informally, and instead should proceed to the formal complaint procedure stage." The formal procedure begins with a "thorough, prompt, and impartial investigation of the complaint," which includes interviews with the complaining party, the accused party, and any necessary witnesses; reviewing the relevant files; and preparing an investigative report.

Saddleback has a range of disciplinary procedures ranging from verbal reprimand through written reprimand, disciplinary probation, partial or full suspension, to expulsion. The possibility of suspension triggers a hearing process closely resembling a trial. The administrative regulations also provide a procedure for appealing to the college president a suspension or a recommendation of expulsion imposed after the hearing. Expulsion can be ordered only by the board of trustees.

At the end of October, less than two weeks after the resolution of the N.R. incident, Saddleback received notice of another complaint by a female student, M.G., who was taking a class with Knight and told the instructor Knight was following her around and taking numerous photos of her in their class, putting his hands on her while doing so. M.G. told her instructor she was coming to class late so she would not encounter Knight before class. She asked her instructor whether she could complete the course work without coming to class and told him she was considering dropping the class.

There was another meeting with Knight on November 8, 2017, this time regarding M.G. The matter was continued for an investigation. Aurora Knight presented Saddleback with a durable power of attorney for her son and demanded to be present at any meeting between Saddleback representatives and Knight.

While the investigation was proceeding, Avalos sent Knight a letter, dated December 1, 2017, formally apprising him of M.G.'s complaint, referring to intake meetings with each party, and explaining that evidence would be gathered to determine whether Knight would be "deemed responsible or not responsible" for the complaint. The letter specified the complaint against Knight as "following [M.G.] around," taking "over 300 unauthorized pictures of her" and "forcefully plac[ing] your hand on her shoulder while taking a selfie with her." In the meantime, a mutual no-contact order was put in place: Knight was to delete photos of M.G. from his phone, and he and M.G. would not interact or sit next to each other in class.

On December 13, Aurora Knight responded in writing to the letter of December 1 and to the discussion at the November 8 meeting. She asserted Knight had M.G.'s permission to take the photos, which were of both of them, and denied Knight had put his hand on M.G.'s shoulder or followed her around to take photos. She referred to the meeting (presumably the one on November 8) in which all of these issues had been discussed.

M.G. was interviewed on January 17, 2018. She said Knight would ask her for a selfie at the beginning of class. At first she agreed, but when he asked her for a photo at every class, she became worried about what he was doing with them. Another student told her Knight had hundreds of photos of M.G. on his phone. He also placed his hand on her shoulder at least once while taking a photo, putting enough pressure on her neck that she went to the restroom to check whether his nails had drawn blood. Given the amount of time that had passed and the fact she no longer attended Saddleback, M.G. was not particularly interested in the investigation or its outcome.

Another meeting with Aurora Knight took place on February 12, 2018. She refused to allow Knight to participate. She insisted Knight had "perfect behavior" on campus and refused to tell him not to take selfies on campus because "this is how he...