1DCA Division 4 Oral Argument - 2026/3/30 - Mar 30, 2026
argument1DCA Division 4 Oral Argument - 2026/3/30
California First District Court of Appeal
26 min
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What procedural issues does counsel raise at the start of the oral argument?
Good morning, and please be seated. And we are here on our specially set calendar for today. So thank you to both counsel for being available. And let me begin by getting appearances from both counsel, beginning with counsel who is here in our courtroom today, if you might. And counsel for the appellant.
Good morning, Your Honors. Jenna Parker for petitioner and appellant. John Doe.
Okay. And Ms. Parker, how much of your 15 minutes, if any, would you like to reserve for rebuttal?
I'll reserve three minutes for rebuttal. Thank you.
Okay. And you'll have to keep track of the time for yourself because I don't think you'll be able to see our clock here. So with that, you may proceed.
Thank you, Your Honors, for the court's tentative opinion and for the courtesy in accommodating my scheduling needs and rescheduling this hearing today. It's much appreciated. I plan to limit my argument to the procedural issues that the court addressed in its tentative decision. And I wanted to start with the burden shifting and the presumption of non-responsibility issue. The court's tentative acknowledges that the hearing officer said that it was Doe's responsibility to present reasons why the preliminary findings should not be changed and reasons why the preliminary determination is incorrect. But I understand that the court found that this language was simply imprecise, not that the burden was actually shifted to Doe to disprove Jane Roe's allegations.
And that's because, as the court correctly noted, the hearing officer also stated that in her decision that the issue was whether the evidence substantiated the allegations by a preponderance of evidence. But I would ask the court to look once again at the full record. The hearing officer made two references during the hearing to Doe bearing the burden to disprove that preliminary determination. And
then
in her written analysis, she again stated that her role was to decide whether the evidence substantiates the preliminary determination by a preponderance.
How does the appellant argue that the burden of proof was improperly shifted to John Doe?
That's at AR 271. And if you look and read her analysis very closely, starting at AR271, she repeatedly bases her evaluation on whether Doe was able to affirmatively show contradictions and inconsistencies in the evidence. And it's this sort of repeated language and analysis style throughout the hearing and the decision that tends to show that it wasn't just an isolated misstatement or an imprecision. It reflects how the hearing officer approached her role and who she believed had the burden of persuasion. And in this case, I think it's clear that she believed incorrectly that it was John Doe. She treated this preliminary finding by the investigator as correct unless John Doe could disprove it. And as a result, the hearing wasn't a neutral de novo review.
It was more of an appeal hearing where the preliminary findings were deemed correct and Doe's burden was to convince the hearing officer otherwise. And that's why we believe the decision is wrong. It applied the wrong standard under UCSB's policy. And why does this matter? Well, when a decision maker begins from the position that a respondent is preliminarily responsible unless proven otherwise, we tend to see exactly what happened here, where the hearing officer overlooked these factual discrepancies, which we pointed out in our briefs. Just to name a few, the hearing officer found no material inconsistencies in Jane Roe's accounts, even though there were material inconsistencies, not just minor discrepancies.
And for instance, Roe initially alleged this half hug from the side with Doe groping her breasts and buttocks from the side. But at the hearing, she stated instead that it was a face-to-face interaction. And this is only important, I think, because of what witness two said that she didn't see. She didn't see any sort of face-to-face interaction with groping of the breasts or buttocks in this initial five-minute interaction. Roache also initially claimed that after the bathroom, Doe had walked next to her and repeatedly grabbed her buttocks, but later she admitted any account of buttocks grabbing.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What procedural issues does counsel raise at the start of the oral argument?
0:15–2:22
2
How does the appellant argue that the burden of proof was improperly shifted to John Doe?
2:22–5:54
3
Why does the appellant claim Appendix 6 was improperly used as evidence?
5:54–8:42
4
What key discrepancies in witness testimony does the appellant highlight?
8:42–11:34
5
How does the appellant explain the impact of missing key‑fob and surveillance footage?
11:34–14:39
6
What counter‑arguments do the Regents present regarding burden shifting and evidence?
14:39–19:07
7
How does the appellant request a remand and outline the procedural remedy?
19:07–22:11
8
What final points and conclusions are made before the court recesses?
22:11–25:34
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