If you’ve found your way to this page, it can mean only one thing: you lost your disciplinary misconduct case at Baylor. You’re probably also facing a serious sanction—suspension or dismissal. After all, few students bother to appeal warnings or even probation.

So let’s get right to the important stuff. You do still have options that can allow you to salvage your career at BU. You can file an appeal. You can try asking the university’s administration to intervene in your case. Neither of these options is easy, though, and you’re going to need help.

No one is better positioned to provide you with that help than the LLF National Law Firm. Our Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights. We’re familiar with all Baylor processes and procedures, including what’s involved in filing an appeal. Most importantly, we’re always on your side, and you can count on us to use every resource at our disposal to get you the best possible resolution to your case.

It’s important you contact us quickly, though. You have just five business days from the end of your hearing 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

Let’s start with a basic overview of the Baylor appeals process.

  • Your first job is to write the appeal. BU provides an appeals form to help guide you through this process. Even so, developing your arguments and coming up with supporting evidence can be tough. It requires no less than a complete shift in your approach to your case.

  • You file your appeal with the Vice President for Student Life. Again, it’s important you do this within five business days of learning the outcome of your hearing.

  • The Vice President can evaluate the appeal themselves or forward it to a three-person appeal committee.

  • At this point, your job is simply to wait for decision-makers to make a final determination in your case.

The Writing Process

As this brief overview suggests, your primary responsibility is writing the appeal. Let’s talk a little about what’s involved in that part of the process.

It’s important that you understand that an appeal is not the same as an investigation or a hearing. It’s also not a chance to re-argue your innocence. The thing is, you’ve already been found responsible for (guilty of) an offense. An appeal can’t undo that, at least on its own. The best you can hope for is an opportunity for a new hearing.

So if you try presenting the same old arguments you used during your hearing and the same old evidence, the Vice President for Student Life is likely to dismiss your case before they even take a look at the specifics. You need new arguments.

An appeal isn’t about guilt or innocence; it’s about whether or not the process worked the way it was supposed to. Your arguments need to relate to that issue, and at Baylor, there are basically only two options.

  • You can argue that the original decision was capricious. That is, it wasn’t based on the actual facts of the case.

  • You can argue that the university committed some procedural error that denied you a fair opportunity to present your case. Maybe you weren’t given enough time to prepare. Maybe decision-makers refused to hear an important piece of evidence.

It’s not just the arguments in the case that have changed, though. The entire playing field has shifted. In the beginning, as the respondent (accused), you had the right to a presumption of innocence. In other words, Baylor had to prove your responsibility with concrete evidence. Now, however, you’re the one making the accusation. As such, the university has the presumption of innocence, and you bear the “burden” of coming up with the evidence. That’s always the weaker position.

Put simply, you face an uphill battle in filing an appeal. It’s a battle you must fight, though. Suspension and dismissal are life-altering sanctions. Both punishments get reported on your transcript, and that’s always going to affect job applications. Just as importantly, you can win your appeal. All you need is one mistake, and as it turns out, schools make plenty of those when they’re making judicial decisions. That’s what happens when faculty and students get put in charge of justice rather than attorneys and judges.

Finally, you have one more advantage this time around: you’re working with the LLF National Law Firm. Just by being involved in the case, we put pressure on Baylor to treat you fairly. And because we’re experienced, we can help you put forward your best arguments and evidence.

Direct Negotiation

There is one other option to try if you lose your appeal: direct negotiation with the Baylor administration. This process can be just as tricky, though, if not more so.

University presidents don’t like to meet with students, especially about disciplinary issues. Getting involved in a case sets the precedent that anyone can circumvent the disciplinary system by complaining to the university’s administration. To even convince an official to talk with you, you need some kind of connection.

The LLF National Law Firm can give you that.

Every college and university maintains an office of general counsel. These are attorneys hired to provide the school with legal advice on a wide range of issues. They make sure administrators follow the law, and they help shield the university from lawsuits.

We have relationships with OGC around the country, and we don’t mind taking advantage of these relationships if it can help get justice for our clients. Keep in mind, though, that other attorneys can’t offer services like this. Only we are so extensively focused on student defense.

What Can the LLF National Law Firm Do for You?

Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from Baylor 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 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.

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