We know you’re exhausted. You’ve been through a disciplinary misconduct investigation that turned your life upside down. You endure a grueling hearing. Worst of all, you were found “responsible” and assigned a serious sanction. No one would blame you for wanting to give up.
You have to keep fighting, though. There’s too much on the line. Even suspension can be the end of your academic career. Often, a “responsible” finding comes with the loss of financial aid.
The good news is that you don’t have to fight alone, even if you took on the investigation and hearing by yourself. The LLF National Law Firm is always on your side. Our Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights. We understand the situation and the stakes. We’re all familiar with Pace University procedures, including what’s involved in filing an appeal.
Before we can help, though, you have to contact us, and you don’t have a lot of time in which to do that. PU gives you just five class days to file your appeal. Don’t wait. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 to find out what we can do for your case, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
Filing Your Appeal
Before we get into the complexities of writing an appeal, we want to offer a brief overview of the process, so you’ll know all the steps involved. Most of these are relatively simple, but it’s important you follow them exactly if you want the university to consider your appeal
- First, of course, you need to write your appeal. There are no forms or guidelines to help you do this. You simply create a document that puts forward your strongest arguments and includes your most compelling evidence.
- You submit your appeal through PU’s Student Conduct Online system Guardian. Again, you must do this no later than five days from learning the outcome of your hearing.
- The university assigns an Appeals Officer to review your case. There are no hearings, however.
- Ultimately, the Appeals Officer renders their final decision in the case. They have three choices: affirm the original decision, modify the terms of your punishment, or order a new hearing.
Writing the Appeal
The real trick to a successful appeal is in the writing. Of course, because you won’t have the chance to speak to the Appeals Officer in person, your document needs to be as clear and compelling as possible. More importantly, you need to choose the right argument and the right evidence.
Appeals have nothing to do with innocence or guilt. As far as the university is concerned, you are guilty of an offense, and you aren’t allowed to complain that the original Facilitator in your case simply “got things wrong.” Appeals are about whether the system itself worked properly. In simple terms, were you treated fairly, and did you have a reasonable opportunity to present your defense?
In that context, you must choose one of four potential arguments.
- The university failed to follow its own procedures. This handicapped your ability to present a competent defense.
- Some new evidence has come to light since the hearing that could potentially alter the outcome. You’re requesting the opportunity to present this evidence at a new hearing.
- The Case Facilitator had a bias against you that could have affected their decision. Again, you deserve a new hearing under fair circumstances.
- The proposed sanction is disproportionate to your supposed offense. In such cases, you don’t get a new hearing, but you are eligible for a fair sanction.
You’re not arguing over your innocence, so you’re also not offering up evidence of your innocence. You want to present evidence that proves you were denied a fair hearing. Even if you’ve found new evidence, you’re not trying to convince the Appeals Officer that you’re innocent; you’re only trying to convince them you deserve a second chance at a hearing.
More importantly, you’re going to need evidence this time around. Technically, you didn’t need any at the hearing. You went into that hearing “innocent.” The university bore the “burden” of overcoming that presumption. Once you were found “responsible,” the situation changed. Now you’re accusing the university of making a mistake. That means you have the burden of coming up with the evidence.
An appeal is never Option A. You’re always better off if you can prove your innocence at a hearing or convince investigators not to pursue your case in the first place. You can win your hearing, though. All you need is one mistake. One single mistake is grounds for an appeal, and universities make lots of mistakes when it comes to student discipline.
Equally as important, you’re not on your own this time around. The LLF National Law Firm will go over the record of your case with a fine-tooth comb, looking for grounds to support your appeal. We’ll help you write that appeal. And along the way, we’ll make sure PU treats you fairly.
The Office of General Counsel
In fact, even if you lose your appeal, you can count on the LLF National Law Firm to keep fighting for justice in your case. An appeal is your last formal option within the PU disciplinary misconduct system, but there is another path you can try.
Every college and university maintains an Office of General Counsel. The OGC is made up of attorneys hired to provide the school with legal advice. They’re the ones who actually came up with PU’s disciplinary system. Their opinion carries enormous weight on campus.
Because we work so extensively in the field of student defense, we’ve made it our business to develop relationships with OGC around the country. These relationships inform how we build student defenses. They help us know what to expect any time our clients are facing investigations or hearings. We can also sometimes leverage them to convince a university administrator to take a second look at a client’s case.
In the past, we’ve managed to get schools to reduce sanctions, remove offenses from our clients’ transcripts, and even throw out cases altogether. Keep in mind, though, that a local or family attorney isn’t going to have these same connections. We’re the only firm that can offer this kind of service.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm With Your Case
Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from Pace University, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here and ready to help. We’ll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure your case is airtight, and guarantee the college respects your rights.
As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. There are deadlines for filing your appeal. Get started now. Contact the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.