Ken Stephens v. Roane State Community College

This is a sexual harassment case. The plaintiff was a tenured professor at the defendant college. In 1996, one of the professor's students filed a complaint of sexual harassment with the college, alleging that the professor engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct and created a hostile educational environment. After a hearing, an administrative law judge determined that the professor had committed the acts charged. Consequently, the professor was suspended without pay for six months. The professor appealed the administrative decision to the trial court. The trial court upheld the decision, using a deferential standard of review, and the professor filed the first appeal in this case. On appeal, this Court reversed and remanded for a review de novo on the record. On remand, the trial court reviewed the case de novo on the record and again upheld the ALJ's decision. The professor now appeals. We affirm, finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow the professor to testify in person at the rehearing on remand, and that the trial court did not err in finding that the ALJ's decision was supported by clear and convincing evidence.