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Elizabeth P. Stedman, J.D.
Asst. Area Coordinator
Rutgers - Camden
NOT GETTING SUED
1. Today’s talk does not constitute legal advice.
2. Always listen to your university’s legal counsel over anything I say today.
3. I am not a lawyer for Rutgers, and nothing I say today represents the opinions of Rutgers.
4. Today I am trying to increase your sense of legal implications.
A DISCLAIMER
1. Duty2. Residents’ Mental Health 3. Defamation4. Torts: Keeping the Place Safe5. Searches6. Fights7. Sexual Harassment8. 1st Amendment9. Times of Crisis10.Incident Reports11.Specific Situations
NOT GETTING SUED
• Usually seek $$$• Trying to right a non-
criminal wrong• Lower standard of
proof: “preponderance of the evidence,” i.e., “more
likely than not”
• Involves a crime• State v. citizen
• Penal• Higher standard of
proof: “beyond a reasonable doubt”
Civil Cases Criminal Cases
TYPES OF CASES ABOUT WHICH YOU SHOULD BE
CONCERNED
DUTYBeyond that time with the phone.
RESIDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH
Just tell someone
•REPORT EVERYTHING. • REPORT EVERYTHING.• REPORT EVERYTHING.
RESIDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH
• Your position → a duty to report
• You do not have choice whether to report
• E.g., family problems, school stress, eating disorders, OCD, difficulties with roommates, homesickness, bullying, dating violence, etc.
RESIDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH
DEFAMATION
• False statement concerning a person
• Told/written to a 3rd person
• Caused harm to original person
• Slander: Spoken defamation
• Libel: Written defamation
DEFAMATION
DEFAMATION
• Defamation per se (defamatory because you said/wrote it):
• Imputations of criminal conduct• Allegations injurious to another in
their trade, business, or profession• Imputations of loathsome disease• Imputations of unchastity in a
woman
TORTS: KEEPING THE PLACE SAFE
Duty (your position entails certain duties)
Breach Causation Damages
TORTS:NEGLIGENCE
Most slip, trip and fall incidents preventable with general
precautions and safety measures If you see water, ice, upturned
carpets, potholes, loose tiles, anything over which someone could trip, loose wires, papers,
etc.
TORTS:KEEPING THE PLACE SAFE
SEARCHES
4th Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.”
SEARCHES
• “Reasonable” searches:• Consent• Plain view• Emergencies• Health and safety
SEARCHES
FIGHTS
FIGHTS
• Do not touch residents
• Keep self safe first• Do not be a hero• Mentally record
everything• Contact police
ASAP
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS AGAINST YOU
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states: “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
• Do not touch residents even in friendly manner• Do not use sexual slang
• Do not display sexual images• Do not make sexually suggestive remarks even in
jest• Remember to keep your Facebook pages clean
PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT BY OTHERS IMPLICATING YOU
• Can also face liability for Title IX violations in cases of sexual harassment where a victim reports the behavior to a
school official, and the school official acts “deliberately indifferent”
• “School official” = anyone a student could reasonably expect as having the
authority to act• Therefore, violation if behavior reported
to you, and you do nothing
1ST AMENDMENT
1ST AMENDMENT
• 1st Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
1ST AMENDMENT
• 1st Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
1ST AMENDMENT
TIMES OF CRISIS
TIMES OF CRISIS
• Residents will do bad things. • Not your job or your problem to resolve
their behavioral or legal dilemmas.
• They will be the first ones to throw you under the bus if they are involved in legal
trouble.
• DO NOT TALK.
• Listen to everything and mentally record.
TIMES OF CRISIS
• NEVER NEVER NEVER:• Openly cast judgment
• Tell them “everything will be okay.”• Tell them “it’s not your fault”
• Side with them• Give them legal advice
• Tell them how to avoid the police/security
INCIDENT REPORTS
INCIDENT REPORTS
• Never lie.• Details will protect you!
• Details show how you were proactive in a situation.
• Detail resident involvement. Will either help or hurt them. Not your job
to protect them from the consequences of their bad behavior.
SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
SPECIFIC SITUATIONS