If you’ve found your way here, it can mean only one thing: you lost your disciplinary hearing at St. John’s. Now you’re facing a sanction, and again, if you’re here, you’re probably facing a serious disciplinary action like suspension or dismissal.

Let’s start with the good news. Your case isn’t over just yet. Under St. John’s own policy, you’re entitled to appeal your responsible outcome under certain circumstances. The first trick is knowing exactly what those circumstances are. The next trick is figuring out how to tailor your appeal so it makes the maximum impact.

The LLF National Law Firm is here to help. Our Student Defense Team has worked with hundreds of students over the years, protecting them from all types of misconduct charges. We know exactly how the St. John’s disciplinary system works, including how to file appeals, and we can show you how to use your due process rights to your best advantage.

It is important you contact us quickly, though. You have just seven days in which to file your appeal, and there’s a lot to do. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.

The Appeals Process

The St. John’s appeals process is actually fairly straightforward, at least in terms of filing the appeal itself. In fact, there are only three steps.

  • You write the appeal.
  • You file the appeal within the seven-day window.
  • You wait for a designated decision-maker to decide your case. They can either affirm the original hearing verdict, lessen your sanction, or order a new hearing.

Why do you need an attorney at all? Other than to make sure you’re treated fairly, your LLF National Law Firm attorney’s primary job is to help you write the appeal itself.

Writing Your Appeal

There are a number of factors that make writing an appeal a challenging process. The first of these is the radical shift in the state of your case. You are now “responsible” for an offense. You cannot go on arguing your innocence, at least not at the moment. For now, that issue has been decided. You may feel it was decided incorrectly—maybe it actually was decided incorrectly—but there’s no mechanism in the St. John’s disciplinary procedures for making that argument.

Appeals are about fairness. The central question is whether you had a fair opportunity to make your case. If you did, no appeal. If you didn’t, you might deserve a second chance to do that.

Basically, there are three possible arguments you can make.

  • You can argue that the university failed to follow its own procedures, which denied you a fair chance to present your case.
  • You can argue that some new piece of evidence has come to light that, had it been available at the time of your hearing, might have altered the outcome.
  • You can argue that Student Conduct Administrator who judged your case had a conflict-of-interest that prevented them from judging your fairly.

You face additional challenges in filing an appeal. One of those is the fact that your arguments must be made in writing. While a hearing can be a stressful experience, it gives you the chance to make your arguments in person and to clarify any confusing issues. This time around, everything must be thoroughly explained so that there are no unanswered questions.

Finally, you’re also in a weaker position in terms of the judicial process. When you were initially accused of an offense, the university was obligated to treat you as “not responsible” (innocent) until it could prove you “responsible.” That means the school had the “burden” of providing evidence. All you had to do was convince a decision-maker that the school’s evidence was flawed.

Once you’re found responsible, the roles are reversed. You’re now accusing the university of mistreating you. That means the burden falls squarely on you to provide enough evidence to overcome the university’s presumption of innocence.

If all of this seems daunting, that’s because it is. You are definitely in a weaker position now than when you were originally accused of an offense. That doesn’t mean you should just throw up your hands and walk away. The fact is, many students win their cases on appeal. Appeals exist to correct mistakes, and university disciplinary systems make a lot of mistakes. It turns out that chemistry professors are great at teaching chemistry but less great at weighty matters of jurisprudence. When under-qualified Conduct Administrators get things wrong, you have the right to demand a new hearing.

Keep in mind as well that this time around, you’re not battling St. John’s on your own. You have an LLF National Law Firm attorney on your side. We know what makes for the strongest arguments, and we know what counts as the most compelling evidence. We’re ready to fight to make sure you’re treated fairly.

The Office of General Counsel

In fact, even if you should lose your appeal, your LLF National Law Firm attorney will keep fighting for justice in your case. One last avenue to try is negotiating directly with the St. John’s administration.

Like all colleges and universities, St. John’s maintains an Office of General Counsel. These are attorneys hired to provide the university with legal advice. We’ve developed relationships with a number of these OGC around the country, and we can often rely on these relationships to convince a university administrator to reconsider a client’s case.

In the past, we’ve managed to get sanctions minimized, transcripts expunged, and cases overturned just by talking with OGC. This is a service only we can offer, though, because only we work so extensively in the field of student defense.

Keep Fighting

Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from St. John’s University, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. We’re here and ready to help. We’ll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure you put forward your very strongest arguments, and guarantee the university 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.

​St. John’s University

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