Taking off my lawyer hat for a minute, and without blaming the victim or trying to defend the coach, I can understand Mac's hesitation as to what to do in trying to honor her request but also determine what he should do. After all, here's how the initial conversation ended:
Quote:Mac said that he was numb, says Jane. He said he had never had a situation like this come up before and he wasnt exactly sure what to do. He said he was getting ready to get on a plane to Denver and he would find out what he needed to do legally. I started to cry and told him I dont want the police involved because of what it would do to Joe. I just needed someone to knowsomeone who could help him get wellbecause he is dangerous.
Mac asked me several times if I [felt] safe.
I told him that I did as long as Joe didnt lose his job. . . .
Jane had told Mac that she was intentionally not giving him any evidence because she didnt want to put him in an Art Briles situationa reference to the former Baylor head coach who was fired for reportedly mishandling allegations of sexual assault perpetrated by Baylor players. But then she remembered that there was evidence that could easily become public.
In a sense, she put him in an impossible bind by notifying him of illegal activity of an employee but then asking him not to do anything that could lead to consequences for that employee. How could he possibly "help him get well" and not report the situation without it becoming an "Art Briles situation?" So, in that sense, I understand why Mac might have some initial confusion in trying to honor her request but also determine what he was supposed to do. It's completely understandable that Jane didn't know what she wanted other than to talk to someone about it. The problem is just that having not fully thought it through, she was essentially giving Mac conflicting instructions.
However, putting my lawyer hat back on, here's the problem, for both Mac and for CU:
Quote:He said he had never had a situation like this come up before and he wasnt exactly sure what to do.
Even if such a situation hadn't come up for him before, CU should have trained him, like ALL employees, on what to do: immediately contact the university's general counsel's office right away, and if they advise him not to make direct contact with her, give her a terse explanation that, given the circumstances, the university's legal department has advised him that she should obtain counsel for future communications with the university. I realize that's really impersonal and extremely difficult to do given the nature of their personal friendship, but once she's notified the employer of an employee's illegal activities that could expose the university to liability vis-a-vis her, they really shouldn't have conversations anymore. That, of course, sucks, but unfortunately there's just not a better alternative.
And really, could every university please create a manual with this stuff and require every employee to read it? I just don't understand how they can let coaches (and others in supervisory positions) not have CLEAR marching orders in the post-Paterno world...
And edited to add:
CU also needs new legal counsel. Tumpkin's lawyer, who I assume was acting on behalf of the university, so clearly violated Model Rule 4.3, "Dealing with Unrepresented Persons," which reads:
Quote:The lawyer shall not give legal advice to an unrepresented person, other than the advice to secure counsel, if the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the interests of such a person are or have a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of the client.
This exchange is just stunning:
Quote:The first contact Jane received about the matter, howeverother than texts from three people closely associated with CU Athletics who praised her for speaking upwas from Jon Banashek, who called her four days after she and MacIntyre first spoke and, according to Jane, introduced himself as the criminal defense attorney for Joe Tumpkin. I understand you called coach MacIntyre, he said.
...According to Jane, Banashek told her that he understood from Mac that I was looking for a restraining order ... [Banashek said] he could make that happen. He assured me that his client would never contact me again in any way. He kept asking, What is it that you want? Jane recalls. He must have asked me that ten times.
I told him that I wanted his client to have not beat me up for two years. I told him that I wanted Joe to be safe and I wanted other women to be safe. I told him that on the Friday before, I was diagnosed with PTSD and that I am going to have to take meds for the first time in my life because of all this.
Would you like to have all of that paid for? Banashek asked, according to Jane.
I said, I dont want one penny of Joe Tumpkins money ... [Tumpkin] had to have told you that I would never take a dime of anyones money.
[Banashek] asked if I wanted an apology. I told him I had 600 apologies in text [form], so I do not need another. I told him that I had called coach Mac ... but no one is talking to me except a criminal defense attorney who is being paid a lot of money to get Joe out of trouble for beating me for two years.
[Banashek] asked if I was considering going to the police. I said yes.
A pause followed, Jane recalls.
He asked if I would do him a favor and give him a heads up before I flew to Colorado to meet with police. I asked: Why I would do that? He said that it would just help him with his job.
The right answer would have been: I recommend you seek counsel, who can advise you of your legal rights and options, and then have that person please get in touch with me. End of story.