Retired Supreme Court justice to hear Winston case

Florida State University administrators are taking the unprecedented step of enlisting a retired state Supreme Court justice to oversee a sexual assault hearing involving star FSU quarterback Jameis Winston.

The identity of the justice will be determined after Winston appears for an information session later this week regarding the Student Code of Conduct alleged violations.

FSU has enlisted three retired justices to be available for the hearing, said Mary Coburn, vice president of student affairs. Winston and his accuser are each allowed to eliminate one; if they both shoot down the same justice, FSU will choose from the remaining two.

Winston and his attorney received a letter Friday from Coburn and interim FSU President Garnett Stokes informing him of the pending hearing, which is preceded by an information session no later than five days after receipt the letter.

A date for the hearing will be determined at the information session. The goal is to have the hearing as quickly as possible, Coburn said.

“Sometimes it takes quite a long time to get everybody’s schedule aligned. We will do it as expeditiously as possible,” she said.

Winston led FSU to an undefeated season last year, capturing the coveted Heisman Trophy as FSU won its third national championship.

Undefeated FSU (6-0), ranked No. 2 in the nation, hosts No. 5 Notre Dame this Saturday.

State Attorney Willie Meggs ruled last year that there was insufficient evidence to file charges against Winston for a sexual encounter with a fellow FSU student in December 2012. The student has said Winston raped her.

She filed a complaint with the federal Department of Education which has prompted its Office of Civil Rights to conduct a Title IX investigation.

FSU is one of more than 50 schools nationwide that the Office of Civil Rights has identified as under review for possible Title IX violations.

FSU will follow normal procedures for Winston’s code of conduct hearing, with the exception of bringing in a retired state Supreme Court justice to oversee the hearing, Coburn said.

FSU’s Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility is continually holding hearings regarding complaints involving the 41,000 students attending the institution.

The defendant and the complainant are each allowed to have one representative, often an attorney, with them at the nearing. Only the students can answer questions, though they are allowed to confer with their representative.

The outcome will be a finding of fact, followed by a decision of responsible or not responsible. If found responsible, that would be followed by sanctions.

This happens normally with a few days of the actual hearing.

“We’re very confident we are moving forward in a consistent way,” Coburn said.