Patrick Fleetwood v. Washington State University

Patrick Fleetwood was a WSU student and member of the school’s Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program. During the late – 2018 timeframe he had a consensual intimate relationship with another WSU student. That student subsequently accused him of sexual harassment which, in turn, led to WSU disciplining him and ROTC kicking him out of the military.

Mr. Fleetwood subsequently sued WSU claiming that its finding that he harassed and retaliated against the accuser lacked substantial evidence, wrongfully interfered with his ROTC contract, was reverse gender discrimination under state and federal law, and that WSU’s policies violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.

A copy of Mr. Fleetwood’s complaint is available here.

Copies of Mr. Fleetwood’s petition to reverse WSU’s findings of harassment and retaliation are available here and here.

On September 14, 2021, the Whitman County Superior Court reversed WSU’s findings that Mr. Fleetwood harassed and retaliated against the accuser and interfered with use of the student conduct system. A copy of the Court’s order is attached here.