Oct 1, 2026 · 1h 44m
Listen from 2:03
Listen at 2:03
Cornell case tests due process amid public condemnation
"Cornell 7" Lawyer Speaks Out, Plus Bombshell New Texts From "Jane Doe," and Kevin Reddington's Bizarre Tactic | Ep. 1410
The episode examines how university proceedings, disputed evidence, anonymity, and online backlash can shape both legal outcomes and reputations.
- 1Tara Davis disputes key elements of the Cornell accuser’s account while distinguishing university findings from criminal rape determinations.
- 2The discussion argues that doxxing and public demands to destroy defendants’ futures can precede a fair evaluation of evidence.
- 3Megyn Kelly criticizes Kevin Reddington’s Lindsay Clancy strategy and questions the treatment of a holdout juror during ongoing proceedings.
Don't miss
Tara Davis explains why a university finding of responsibility should not be treated as a criminal rape finding.
The brief
Attorney Tara Davis describes representing a Cornell defendant through hearings and appeals, while the discussion contrasts changing Title IX procedures with the demands of due process.
Davis disputes parts of the accuser’s account, addresses anonymity and disputed evidence, and separates a university policy finding from a criminal rape determination.
The interview turns to doxxing, threats, and social-media calls to ruin the defendants, raising the question of whether condemnation has replaced evidence review.
Megyn criticizes Kevin Reddington’s defense theory in the Lindsay Clancy case and defends holdout juror Michael Desranville amid a related controversy.
A final report reconstructs Presley Gerber’s last hours at a sober-living facility and questions why staff admitted him while reportedly intoxicated.
What was said on this episode
27 statements · 13 positive · 10 negative · 1 mixed · 3 neutral
Current Title IX rules restore advisors’ attendance and witness cross-examination rights.
“So now we are back to... the position of being able to attend, being able to cross-examine witnesses.”
Listen at 4:54
New York courts are likely to let the accuser proceed under a pseudonym.
“But I think that the courts are likely to allow her to remain that status”
Listen at 6:33
Lopes’s account is that the sexual activity was consensual.
“So from his perspective, I mean, yes, everything was consensual and there was no question about it.”
Listen at 15:26
Lopes received a suspension in addition to educational sanctions.
“He did receive a suspension period.”
Listen at 16:04
Davis says responsible students are not sanctioned only with an essay.
“I can't recall. A single case where someone found responsible was assigned only an essay.”
Listen at 16:46
The defendants’ online reputational information will persist indefinitely.
“it's going to be out there and it's going to live on the Internet. um you know forever”
Listen at 20:34
Davis says the complaint’s account of Lopes’s conduct is factually inaccurate.
“Yes, that's just not factual. It's not what was presented in the hearing through any of the testimony, through the evidence.”
Listen at 22:59
Lopes’s defense is that his sexual encounter with her was consensual.
“Correct.”
Listen at 24:04
Ketamine matters because incapacitation could negate consent under the university’s process.
“So, you know, in looking at the allegations of sexual assault, the question is whether she was incapacitated such that she could not consent”
Listen at 25:06
Davis says the accuser was not incapacitated during Lopes’s involvement.
“she was not incapacitated as far as we saw through all the testimony, her own testimony included, as well as the evidence.”
Listen at 26:21
Lopes did not use drugs during the alleged events.
“No, he didn't use any drugs that night.”
Listen at 28:16
The hearing panel found Lopes was not involved in ketamine use.
“No, I believe the hearing panel had found that he wasn't involved in, in the use of the academy that night.”
Listen at 29:00
Davis says Cornell took the case seriously but an investigator was insufficiently attentive.
“I think they were taking it seriously. I don't know that they were perhaps. or at least this particular individual was paying attention as much as she should have been throughout the entire thing.”
Listen at 30:42
Early messages indicated the accuser viewed the encounters as consensual.
“But the initial ones, there was certainly some indication of that.”
Listen at 32:08
Cornell classifies relevant policy findings as sexual assault rather than rape.
“It would have been sexual assault that they would classify it as.”
Listen at 33:10
Public pressure appears to have influenced the DA’s decision to revisit the case.
“I mean, to me, it seems like pressure to do so.”
Listen at 33:39
The public should remain open-minded and avoid premature conclusions about guilt.
“I would just, you know, encourage people to be perhaps a bit more open minded and not immediately jump to conclusions about about who did what and who's guilty or not.”
Listen at 34:42
New York generally accommodates litigants proceeding under pseudonyms.
“But I do think New York State as a general matter, you know, is pretty accommodating in terms of allowing for parties to proceed by pseudonym.”
Listen at 36:32
Davis condemns the group-chat messages as disturbing and embarrassing.
“it's disturbing. And I'm sure that, you know, the men that are on there are embarrassed as they should be.”
Listen at 38:22
College students’ experimentation can lead to sanctions and potential criminal activity.
“Kids do dumb things. And hopefully it's not to this extent where it leads to conduct findings and sanctions and potential criminal activity.”
Listen at 39:23
People should wait for more facts before judging the Cornell case.
“there's a lot of facts that have to come out and i think people need to pause and just wait to see um you know what happens with the case and where this goes”
Listen at 41:36
College sexual-assault prevalence does not establish that sexual assault occurred here.
“But that doesn't mean that that's what happened here.”
Listen at 43:59
Title IX processes generally reach correct outcomes when properly followed.
“when the processes are implemented and followed, they do reach correct outcomes.”
Listen at 44:27
Davis prefers not to restore Obama-era Title IX enforcement rules.
“Preferably not.”
Listen at 44:39
Public criticism of Cornell sanctions reflects incomplete knowledge of the facts.
“But this, unfortunately, is another snapshot of people who don't have all the facts”
Listen at 46:00
Davis says evidence was insufficient to establish that Lopes committed a crime.
“there was no evidence sufficient to show that there was a crime committed”
Listen at 48:02
Davis predicts evidence will show the accuser appeared aware during Lopes’s involvement.
“the evidence will show that she was not presenting in a way that would have suggested that she was not aware of what was happening.”
Listen at 48:48
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.