Colleges and universities are all about freedom of thought and educational inquiry. Students at Brown are encouraged to develop open minds and a questioning mentality. Until they aren’t.

More and more these days, students across the country find themselves caught between their schools’ emphasis on free thinking and their schools’ threats to punish any speech or expression that goes “too far.” Not surprisingly, there has been a sharp uptick in the number of students accused of disciplinary misconduct simply for saying the wrong thing. The line between protected and unprotected speech is just too thin.

The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights and ensure that schools treat everyone on campus fairly. Whatever your individual situation, we’re on your side and ready to use every resource at our disposal to mount your defense. We know your rights under the law, and we know how Brown’s processes and procedures work.

What can we do for you? Call 888-535-3686 today to find out, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.

Brown University’s Free Speech Policy

Brown’s FAQ on “freedom of expression, protest and related policies” reminds students that the university “has a long-standing and deep commitment to academic freedom” and “freedom of expression.” Strong words. After all, though, what school wants to market itself as closed-minded and resistant to ideas?

Read a bit further, though, and you’ll quickly discover that Brown maintains far more policies designed to limit free speech than it does policies designed to promote it.

Here’s the thing: we’re not here to debate whether or not Brown should be more willing to honor its students’ First Amendment Rights, though certainly it should be. The more important point is that Brown students are presented with conflicting statements about their speech, and it’s far too easy to wind up unfairly accused of an offense over something you’ve said in class or a t-shirt your dorm manager didn’t like.

When that happens, we’re always ready to step in to defend your rights and protect your interests.

Brown University’s Code of Student Conduct

Defending yourself from misconduct charges at Brown involves more than a clear understanding of the school’s free speech policies. The fact is, Brown isn’t going to charge you with saying something it doesn’t like or “wearing an offensive t-shirt.” That would seem a little too much like ignoring the First Amendment. There are plenty of Code of Conduct violations the university can charge you with, though.

  • Harm to Persons: Obviously, Brown is going to hold you responsible for doing physical harm to anyone on campus. In addition, though, the Code prohibits “Emotional/ Psychological Harm.” That makes it possible to charge you with offenses over things you say.
  • Discrimination/ Harassment: Brown has rules against both discrimination and harassment. Fair enough. Federal law actually protects individuals from any type of discrimination having to do with certain protected characteristics, like race, sex, age, religion, and national origin. Brown also uses the law to justify limiting free speech, though.
  • Disruption: This is another common charge in free speech cases. Essentially, the university argues that anything you do to “disrupt” normal operations is a violation of school policy. Ultimately, acts of protest and words that upset others are always going to disrupt normal operations.

What you’re charged with is far less important than having the right attorney on your side. LLF National Law Firm attorneys are well-versed in the Brown disciplinary system. We also have the experience of having helped hundreds of students defend themselves from all types of charges. We know what to expect, and we can prepare you to handle it.

Defending Yourself From Charges

Whatever the charges against you, the Code guarantees you the right to due process. You’re “not responsible until proven responsible” (innocent until proven guilty), for example, and the university needs concrete evidence to overcome that presumption. If you know what you’re doing, you can use these rights to protect yourself.

  • All disciplinary misconduct issues at Brown are handled by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. Any time someone lodges a complaint against you, this office must determine whether or not the complaint is credible and actionable.
  • If you are charged with an offense, the Office issues a notice of those charges. This notice is supposed to describe the nature of the complaint. It should also contain a complete list of your due process rights.
  • The university must conduct some type of investigation. It cannot proceed against you without some evidence substantiating the charges. As part of any investigation, you are entitled to give your side of the events. In addition, the Office of Student Conduct must keep you apprised of all evidence uncovered in the case.
  • Once the investigation is complete, the case proceeds to either an Administrative Hearing or a Student Conduct Board (SCB) hearing.
  • In either case, the hearing is a chance to argue for your innocence. You may introduce physical evidence and call witnesses to testify. You also have the right to raise questions about any evidence being used against you, including witness testimony.
  • The standard of responsibility (guilt) at Brown is “the preponderance of the evidence.” What this means is that you are responsible (guilty) if it seems “more likely than not” that you committed the offense.
  • Your last due process right is the right to appeal the hearing outcome. However, you must have “grounds” to do so. Those can include new evidence discovered since the end of your hearing, a procedural error, or a disproportionate sanction.

Your LLF National Law Firm attorney cannot “represent” you the way they would in a criminal or civil trial. However, you can count on them to prepare you for every aspect of the investigation and hearing. They’ll work with you to outline your entire defense strategy, coach you in talking with administrative officials, and even draft the content of your hearing presentation. Any time you’re accused of an offense, Brown becomes your adversary. You need someone in your corner representing your interests. You need a LLF National Law Firm attorney.

Fight for Your Future.

If you’ve been accused of some type of disciplinary misconduct over something you’ve said, you don’t want to try to handle the situation on your own. Your educational and professional futures are at stake.

The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is committed to your future and to ensuring you get justice. We are skilled negotiators, but make no mistake: we’re ready to fight for you any time you need us.

To find out more about how we can help, contact the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or fill out our online questionnaire.

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