From the moment you were charged with an offense at Tulane, you were at a disadvantage. For example, you weren’t entitled to an actual hearing before a panel of decision-makers. A single investigator was in charge of your case, and while you were allowed to submit evidence, you were never allowed to examine or cross-examine witnesses. The investigator didn’t have to be certain “beyond a reasonable doubt” that you were Responsible for (guilty of) an offense. They only had to be just over fifty percent certain.
Your case isn’t over yet, though. You still have the right to appeal the outcome, and this time, you need to understand that even if your LLF National Law Firm attorney can’t sit beside you while you’re questioned, they can play a vital role in crafting your defense. Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can work with you to develop arguments, help you uncover evidence, draft documents on your behalf, and even coach you on how to present your case.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is well-versed in the law as it applies to higher education. They also know Tulane’s policies and procedures inside and out. They’ve helped hundreds of students file appeals. They take your rights as a student seriously, and they’ll fight to get you the best possible resolution to your case.
You cannot wait to file your appeal, though. Tulane gives you just ten days from the end of your hearing to file. That’s not a lot of time to build your defense. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
What’s at Stake
You faced some serious challenges during the original investigations. You’ll face some even tougher challenges undertaking an appeal. No surprise, then, that plenty of students simply give up at this point.
Here’s why you can’t do that.
First, there’s far too much at stake to walk away now. If you’ve found your way to this page, it likely means you’re facing a serious sanction, either dismissal or suspension. Obviously, dismissal means giving up your progress at Tulane and walking away from all your friends. It also means a transcript notation about your offense, and that can keep you from transferring elsewhere. Suspension is a little better. You can return to Tulane and finish your degree. Once you leave college, though, it’s never easy coming back. And you, too, will have a transcript notation to worry about. You’ll have a degree, but you’ll likely have to explain your offense on most job applications.
Second, you need to know that as difficult as an appeal can be, plenty of students can and do win appeals every year. The thing is, campus judicial systems are prone to mistakes—sometimes, lots of mistakes. Rules are relaxed, and, again, there are many inherent unfairnesses, especially in Tulane’s system. That usually means there are plenty of ways to attack the system and force a new hearing.
Keep in mind, as well, that this time around, you’ll have an attorney on your side, and not just any attorney. You’ll have someone from the premier law firm in the country when it comes to student defenses.
The Appeals Process at Tulane University
Students sometimes assume that an appeal works pretty much like an investigation or hearing, that it’s simply a second chance to defend yourself. In fact, appeals serve a very different purpose, and they work very differently from investigations and hearings.
- It may seem obvious to point out, but you’ve now been found Responsible for (guilty of) an offense. That changes everything. In the beginning of your case, you had the presumption of innocence. That meant the university had the burden of proving you weren’t innocent. Now, the roles are reversed. The university is assumed to have given you a fair investigation and to have ultimately reached a just conclusion. You have the burden of proving otherwise.
- Given this situation, you must shift your approach from trying to prove your innocence to trying to prove the university made some sort of mistake. This process is made more challenging by the fact that you have just four possible arguments to choose from.
- The university made some significant errors in a procedure that cost you a chance at a fair hearing.
- New evidence has come to light that wasn’t available during your original hearing, and it could potentially change the outcome.
- The sanction you’ve been issued is disproportionate to the nature of your offense.
- Someone involved in the investigation and hearing had a bias against you. This argument is only available if you’ve been charged with a Title IX sexual misconduct offense.
- The appellate panel may ask to speak to you, to the investigator, or to other persons involved in the case. This is not a hearing, though, and you will not have an opportunity to present your case. You must make all of your arguments in the written appeal itself.
- Unless there is new evidence, your “proof” must all come from the record of the original investigation and hearing.
- An appeal is just the first step in a longer process. Should you win your appeal, you then have to go back to square one and undergo a new investigation.
Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can help you reorient your thinking and prepare your appeal. They can further guide you through each additional step of the process and, should you win your appeal, can work with you to build a new defense.
The Firm’s Student Defense Team knows Tulane administrative and judicial systems and can help you navigate them. In addition, they regularly work with university Offices of the General Council. These are attorneys hired by the school to offer advice on all legal matters, including student justice. This gives your LLF National Law Firm attorneys unique insight into how campus investigations, hearings, and appeals work. It also sometimes allows them to leverage the system to your benefit in ways other attorneys can’t.
Fight For Your Future
Of course, your LLF National Law Firm cannot guarantee to win your appeal. No one can do that. At this point, you’ve exhausted a number of your most important rights. The appeals process at the University of Tulane exists for a reason, though. You deserve justice, and what the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can promise you is that they will fight hard to get you that justice. They’re here to protect your rights and to make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. Ten days is not long to put together a strong appeal. Get started now. Contact the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.