You came here to discover if you can appeal your “responsible” finding at North Dakota State University. The answer is yes, but don’t rush off to file just yet.
The thing is, a disciplinary misconduct appeal can be more than a little tricky. Oh, not the filing part—that’s relatively straightforward. But the coming up with what to say part can certainly doom an appeal if you’re not one hundred percent clear on just what an appeal is for.
We can help. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights, and we’ve handled hundreds of student defenses. We know exactly how NDSU’s disciplinary process works, including what’s involved in filing appeals. Most importantly, we’re always on your side, no matter what your situation.
Before you take on your university, make sure you have the best possible help on your side. 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.
The NDSU Filing Process
As we mentioned, the steps to filing your appeal at NDSU are pretty basic. Even so, you want to make sure you’re following them all precisely. Make a mistake at some point, and you could find your appeal rejected before anyone even reads it.
- NDSU actually provides an online form to help guide the construction of your appeal. In simple terms, you need to come up with “grounds” for your appeal, and you need to offer some evidence to support those grounds. We’ll get into all of this below.
- You have just five days from receiving notice of your hearing outcome to file your appeal.
- Once you click “submit,” your appeal is forwarded to a designated Appeals Officer.
- Your adversary in the case (if you had one) receives a copy of your appeal as well and has five days in which to respond.
- There are no hearings in appeals cases. Instead, the Appeals Officer reviews materials from both sides and makes a final determination.
- This determination should be made within ten days. The Appeals Officer has three options: they can affirm the original decision, they can alter the terms of the original decision, or they can order a new hearing.
Most of your job, then, is simply waiting for a response. There is that writing bit, though. Let’s talk about that next.
Writing Your Appeal
The first key to success with any judicial procedure is to understand the nature and purpose of that procedure. The first thing you need to know, then, is exactly what an appeal is designed to do. In contrast to what most people believe, an appeal is not a second chance to prove your innocence. That would be redundant.
Instead, an appeal is a check on the system. It’s a chance for NDSU to consider whether you were treated fairly during the disciplinary process. Now, you probably assume that the outcome of your hearing was unfair. You were found responsible, and that’s no good. That’s not what “fair” means in this case. It means, were you given a fair opportunity to defend yourself?
In this context, there are just three options:
- NDSU failed to follow its own procedures. You were denied your due process rights, and as a result, you didn’t have a reasonable chance to prove your innocence. You deserve a new hearing.
- The case outcome doesn’t match the evidence. According to NDSU policy, you are guilty of an offense only if there is a “preponderance of evidence” against you. In plain language, decision-makers must believe, based on the evidence, that it is “more likely than not” that you committed the offense. If the evidence doesn’t add up to this conclusion, you deserve a new hearing before unbiased decision-makers.
- The sanction imposed in your case is clearly disproportionate to the nature of your offense. In this situation, you don’t get a new hearing. You are eligible for a reduced sanction, though, and if you’re facing suspension or dismissal, that could be huge.
The other important wrinkle in appeals cases is the issue of evidence. Obviously, you were found “responsible” during the original hearing. One of the consequences of that decision that you may not have considered is that the burden in the case has shifted.
At the hearing, you were “innocent until proven guilty.” If you parse that phrase carefully, you’ll discover that it means you didn’t actually need to present evidence. Evidence of innocence always helps, but your primary job was to disprove the evidence the university presented. The university bore the “burden” of proof. But you’re not innocent anymore, and to overcome the presumption of guilt, you need a “preponderance of evidence”—enough evidence to demonstrate that it’s more likely than not that you were denied a fair hearing and result.
Don’t let these more strenuous requirements dissuade you from filing. To earn a new hearing, all you need to do is show one mistake on the university’s part, and that’s not as difficult as it may sound. Large bureaucracies make mistakes all the time. More importantly, universities aren’t organized to dispense justice. They’re organized to educate. When they’re asked to dispense justice, they get it wrong a fair percentage of the time.
There’s too much at stake at this point to walk away. Plus, you’re not alone. You’ve got the LLF National Law Firm on your side, and that fact alone will ensure you’re treated fairly this time around.
An Additional Option
If your appeal fails, there is one more option you can try, but it can be just as difficult as filing an appeal, and again, you’re going to need the LLF National Law Firm to help.
You can always ask the NDSU administration to reconsider your case. Effective negotiations with an administrator can mean a lesser sanction, an expunged transcript, or even a brand-new hearing. Obviously, negotiations can be tricky. And before you can undertake them, you’ll have to convince the administration to participate. Most schools don’t want to raise any questions about the prescribed disciplinary misconduct process. How do you convince them to do it anyway?
The key is hiring the LLF National Law Firm. We maintain relationships with all the important players in university disciplinary systems, including the Office of General Counsel. The OGC is made up of attorneys hired to provide the university with legal advice. We speak their language, and we can sometimes rely on these relationships to initiate negotiations and get our clients the justice they deserve—even if their appeals have already failed.
The LLF National Law Firm is Always on Your Side
Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from the North Dakota State 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 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.