Reports: Winston to face disciplinary hearing

Jameis Winston will be the subject of a third-party code of conduct hearing. (USATSI) A disciplinary hearing to determine if Jameis Winston violated Florida State’s code of conduct policy will be held by an outside-the-university third party, multiple outlets reported Friday.

Per USA Today and ESPN, Florida State sent a letter to Winston and Winston’s attorney Friday notifying him of the hearing, which stems from allegations he sexually assaulted a female FSU student in December 2012. Winston has not yet been charged with a code of conduct violation, but was informed in the letter he could face charges of varying severity at the hearing.

John Clune, the Title IX attorney who represents Winston’s accuser, also received a copy of the letter and called the process to outsource the hearing to a third party “highly unusual.”

“We know nothing about what the hearing process is going to be, the right to call witnesses, if there’s going to be witnesses called or if it’s going to be this third party interviewing all the people,” Clune told USA Today. “We just have no details of what this is going to look like.”

Winston attorney David Cornwell did not comment to either outlet, but did issue this tweet:

FSU creates new procedures 2 investigate the false allegations. Declines to charge Jameis w/ a violation of Code of Student Conduct.#1ststep

— David Cornwell (@wmdavidcornwell) October 11, 2014

Winston has five days to respond to Florida State’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to schedule what ESPN labeled an “information hearing” in preparation for the disciplinary hearing.

The hearing continues the school’s Title IX-required investigation into the allegations against Winston, which was reopened in August 2014 after school officials spoke to Winston’s accuser.

Florida State defended its handling of the Winston case in an open letter Friday, with an attorney for Winston’s accuser calling its presented timeline “full of errors” and its statements “preventative damage control.”

>> Want more on Winston case? FSU reportedly hindered probe

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