The Daily Agenda: Nothing to be proud of

An old lawsuit against the UA now affects off-campus actions ... 9th Circuit gave "sweeping victory" to student survivors of abuse ... Griffin keeps blocking groundwater rules.

The University of Arizona often leads the pack in scientific research and discoveries, but the school set a different type of precedent this week — and it’s not at all a point of pride.

A years-old federal lawsuit involving complaints of abuse by a former football player took center stage again Monday when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that schools can be liable under Title IX for sexual harassment that takes place in off-campus student residences.

Title IX is a federal law that says students have the right to an education free from discrimination and harassment, including sexual abuse, stalking and dating violence.

For those not familiar with Caitlin’s previous work on the Title IX beat, the law has proved problematic for UA Athletics in recent years. The school has generated headlines for a handful of cases alleging violence against women by student-athletes, and in one case, a coach.

Monday’s ruling involves the case of Orlando Bradford, a running back who was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison after two of his ex-girlfriends came forward with reports of serious abuse.

The women both ended up suing the UA, saying the school knew Bradford posed a risk to other students, since officials had previously received complaints from another ex-girlfriend.

Bradford was banned from the dorms after the first woman’s complaints and moved into off-campus housing with other members of the football team.

But moving a person off-campus doesn’t guarantee they’ll no longer be violent with women, and Bradford quickly proved that point.

It wasn’t long before he was facing accusations of beating and choking the two other women, with roommates and witnesses able to back up the victim’s accounts.

In 2020, the UA settled with one of the women, paying what one expert called an unprecedented $1.3 million settlement that required approval by the state’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee due to its price tag.

But the second lawsuit, filed by student Mackenzie Brown, stalled after a U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the school, which said it shouldn’t be held responsible for off-campus assault. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in 2020.

"That a student’s off-campus housing is paid for with scholarship funds awarded by his school does not make his residence part of the school’s 'operations,'" Circuit Judge Danielle Forrest wrote at the time, saying the plaintiff "was not assaulted on school property or during a school-related activity, and she did not go to Bradford's off-campus apartment for a school-related purpose."

The plaintiff’s attorney, Isabel Humphrey, told Caitlin at the time that she was considering seeking a review by the full 9th Circuit Court panel of judges to review the case.

Humphrey made good on her word, and three years later, the case is set to move forward in what her team calls a “sweeping victory for student survivors across the country.” The UA declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Monday’s eleven-judge en banc panel — meaning all the court’s judges heard the case — is typically reserved for cases in which the court believes the matters are especially complex or important.

 “[W]hile the physical location of the harassment can be an important indicator of the school’s control over the ‘context’ of the alleged harassment, a key consideration is whether the school has some form of disciplinary authority over the harasser in the setting in which the harassment takes place,” wrote Judge William Fletcher on behalf of the 9th Circuit.

Fletcher said if the harassment takes place in a “context” over which the school has “substantial control,” it can be held liable for deliberate indifference, even if the harassment takes place away from the school’s physical property.

Attorneys who handled the case called the opinion a victory for all student survivors across the country. There’s no question the UA “failed to take even the most basic steps to protect” students, one said.

“A school’s power to stop violence—and its responsibility to do so—doesn’t stop at the campus boundary,” said Alexandra Brodsky, a staff attorney at Public Justice who argued the case before the en banc court.

Monday’s ruling will likely make waves beyond the UA. The judges’ opinion will almost certainly affect future Title IX litigation involving off-campus incidents at other schools.

And even though the decision represents a win for survivors, it doesn’t necessarily mean Brown will win her case. She still has to prove that the UA fell short on its duty to protect her.

You can help us stay up-to-date on this lawsuit and all other federal court cases by upgrading your subscription or sharing the Tucson Agenda with your friends.

Silent on the airwaves: Local political radio and TV personality John C. Scott died Friday at the age of 80, the Tucson Sentinel’s Jim Nintzel reports. Scott spent more than 30 years hosting the John C. Scott Show, which was featured on several AM radio stations and brought listeners in-depth interviews with politicians, journalists and community leaders. Scott’s last show aired July 15 and featured Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik.

Timber: City officials are investigating more than 50 trees that were cut down in Navajo Wash by a contractor working with a nearby neighborhood association, the Arizona Daily Star’s Nicole Ludden writes. Tucson City Councilman Kevin Dahl said the action wasn’t authorized by the city or any official agency. The secretary of the Hedrick Acres Neighborhood Association told the Star that the association accepted a donation from a resident and paid a landscaper to clear the trees.

Oh, the humanity: The August transfer of several hundred small animals from the San Diego to Tucson’s Humane Society is still in question, with legal threats and a pair of petitions aimed at Humane Society of Southern Arizona CEO Steve Farley, the Daily Star’s Eddie Celaya writes. A recent news release from the San Diego Humane Society demanded contact information for the rescue groups Tucson worked with and documentation of each animal’s outcome, threatening legal action if it didn’t receive the information by yesterday.

Funding for addiction support: Attorney General Kris Mayes has tasked the Cochise Addiction Recovery Partnership with suggesting how to spend the county’s $11.8 million share of the national opioid settlement, Arizona Public Media’s Summer Horn reports. The overwhelming consensus from local healthcare providers was that Cochise County’s greatest needs to combat the opioid crisis include a detox center, more education and peer support.

Nothing gets by her: Republican state Rep. Gail Griffin has repeatedly prevented groundwater management bills supported by her stakeholders from being heard, Arizona Capitol Times’ Mia Osmonbekov writes. There are no groundwater regulations in rural areas, which cover 80% of the state, and rural Arizonans are growing increasingly frustrated with her inaction on the issue.

“She has pretty much shut her mind to any kind of regulation at all on groundwater,” said Regina Cobb, a former lawmaker from Mohave County who fought for legislation to establish Rural Management Areas, a program allowing rural communities to directly manage their water.

Funding for border technology: The Nogales Police Department is receiving a $10 million grant to improve communications technology for border security, KJZZ’s Ignacio Ventura reports. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the award last week, after Customs and Border Protection reassigned 50 employees from Arizona’s five ports of entry to help streamline the processing of incoming migrants.

594: The number of students expelled for sexual misconduct from public universities that compete in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision between 2014 and 2020, according to USA Today’s Kenny Jacoby. As part of its series, “Title IX falling short at 50,” USA Today asked 107 public universities for aggregate statistics about sexual misconduct reports, but received complete data from just 56 of those schools. Out of the tens of thousands of sexual misconduct reports, 1,094 students were suspended.