Hea 9220 Legal Case Presentation 1-22-13

BLACK_ LEGAL CASE PRESENTATION 1
Legal Case Presentation

Ciara Black
Wright State University
HEA 9220
Case Review
Iota Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson, 538 F. Supp.2d 915 (2008) is an
appeals case that reached the 4
th
Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. The 4
th
Circuit of
the United States Court of Appeals includes the following states: West Virginia, Virginia,
Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The appeal was argued on January 27, 2009 and
decided on May 13, 2009. The plaintiffs were the Iota Xi chapter, and Sigma Chi Fraternity
members Ryan Duckwitz and Justin Pietro. The defendants were Pamela Patterson, Associate
Dean of Students, Michele Goubadia Associate Director for Student Activities, Greek Life;
Girard Mulherin, Dean of Students, Sandy Hubler Vice President of University Life, Alan G.
Merten President all listed in their official capacity and individually and lastly, George Mason
University.
The plaintiffs alleged that the University imposed sanctions that deprived the chapter
and its members of their procedural due process and free speech rights (Iota Xi Chapter of the
Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson, 538 F. Supp.2d 915 (2008), p. 3).The basis for the case began
in early February 2005 after a series of incidents of which the chapter and/or its members were a
part of. Those include incidents include:
1. An off-campus party hosted by the fraternity where a sexual assault occurred.
2. Underage drinking at a second party attended by several chapter members.
BLACK_LEGAL CASE PRESENTATION 2

3. A third party where underage drinking and a second sexual assault occurred.
4. A hazing incident where several members and pledges sang and marched in front of a
University Library.
5. A second hazing incident where a pledge told his instructor that he was unable to
return home to retrieve an extra-credit assignment.
Given the severity and the number of events that occurred within one year with the same
student organization, the University and its officials were charged with taking action. Those
actions included a disciplinary hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the University offered
the fraternity a two-year suspension of the Chapters University recognition (Iota Xi Chapter
of the Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson, 538 F. Supp.2d 915 (2008), p. 6). The two-year
suspension was declined by the fraternity.
The fraternity appealed the decision from the disciplinary hearing and at the conclusion of
the appeals panel hearing, Dean Mulherin recommended that the chapter be permanently
dismissed from campus (Iota Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson, 538 F.
Supp.2d 915 (2008), p. 8). The appeals panel did dismiss the charge of underage consumption
due to insufficient evidence. The following sanctions were imposed as a result of the panels
decision:
1. Revocation of the chapters university recognition until at least September 1, 2016.
2. The Dean of Students and the Director of Student Activities were instructed to monitor
membership in George Mason University recognized fraternal organizations to insure that

the current membership of Sigma Chi fraternity does not re-emerge under a different
name
3. The decision was to be published as deemed appropriate by the Dean of Students in order
to inform and educate the George Mason University community regarding our
institutional values.
The chapter again appealed, yet this appeal was rejected by the Vice President for Student
Life. Mr. Duckwitz and Mr. Pietro were also involved in incidents at an orientation fair and off-
campus golf outing promoting brotherhood, following these hearings and were themselves
involved in sanctions. The chapter then filed a legal complaint in 2007 against the university and
the above-named officials.
Review of Decision
In their filing, the chapter claimed that the University violated the plaintiffs 14
th

Amendment right to due process and their 1
st
Amendment right of freedom of speech. There
were also procedural issues that were addressed. The district court awarded summary judgments
to the defendants (University officials) and this decision was affirmed by the 4
th
Circuit of the
United States Court of Appeals.
Court Reasoning
Both district court and United States Court of Appeals rejected the plaintiffs procedural
due process claim however the reasoning from the United States Court of Appeals was different
from that of the district court. Their reasoning was that the suggested sanctions were not

enforced in their entirety and the chapter members were not denied membership into other
organizations. Monitoring membership in recognized fraternal organizations to ensure that a
fraternity that has been sanctioned with withdrawal of official recognition does not reemerge
under another name is not a deprivation of the constitutional right to free association (Campus
Legal Advisor, 2010, p.15). The property issue, as it relates to due process was also addressed by
the court and it determined that although the publication of the decision could create stigma,
there is no constitutional right to be free of stigma (Iota Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity
v. Patterson, 538 F. Supp.2d 915 (2008), p. 16) and there was no injury to the chapter or
fraternity that was identified.
Regarding the 1
st
Amendment right of freedom of speech, the court agreed with the
defendants on each of their three claims related to the 1
st
Amendment. The hazing incident in
front of a University library lacked standing and the claims of retaliation and orientation lacked
merit.
Importance to Student Affairs Professionals
This case is important to Student Affairs professionals because it deals with some many
different facets of student life, the Greek community, underage alcohol consumption, student
safety, student organizations, internal university governance, etc. It is imperative that
practitioners not only follow and enforce university policy and procedures but also understand
why they are in place. The University did what it could to not only hold the fraternity
accountable but also communicated with them throughout the sanctioning process while
providing reasoning for the decisions that were made. It should be noted that this same fraternity

and chapter also had a case in 1993 that reached the 4
th
Circuit, Iota Xi Chapter of Sigma Chi
Fraternity v. George Mason University 993 F.2d 386 (1993). This case involved issues
surrounding nullification of sanctions imposed on it by the University because it conducted an
"ugly woman contest" with racist and sexist overtones, was affirmed meaning that the fraternity.
Overall relationships between Greek-letter organizations and those practitioners who
work with them must improve. The assumptions that can define what it means to be Greek can
be juxtaposed from the principles of their organizations. Jackson and Harless in their 1997 About
Campus article highlight their collaborative Greek summit model. This model resulted in
improvements in the relationships between Greeks and the college. The responsibility for
governing and holding the chapters accountable has shifted from the college to the student
leadership (Jackson & Harless, 1997, p. 25). This model could be used by other institutions to
improve the connections between the university and its student leaders.


References
Jackson, S. & Harless, A. (1997). Returning greek organizations to their founding principles.
About Campus, 2(4), p. 23-25.
Campus Legal Advisor. (2010). Student affairs-Greek affairs: 4th circuit affirms sanctions
against sigma chi fraternity, p. 14-15.

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