If you or your minor student face school misconduct, discipline charges, or academic progress issues, the outcome of the matter may depend on one or more critical cases establishing education law, rights, and procedures. Make no mistake: court case law affects the outcome of school disciplinary matters. The Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team attorneys know how to strategically deploy critical case law in education to your best advantage. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for the best available student defense representation nationwide. Learn here how critical case law in education may affect your matter's outcome.
How Court Decisions Impact Future Cases
Court decisions interpreting the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and federal statutes can dictate what school officials must do and must not do relating to student disciplinary charges, from the elementary level through the secondary level and into college, university, and graduate school. The Supreme Court, in particular, states the supreme law of the land when interpreting and applying the Constitution's due process clause, free-speech guarantee, and other rights in the school setting. Lower federal and state courts must generally follow Supreme Court precedent, as must other federal and state officials, including officials at public schools. One court decision affects another. When the decision comes from the Supreme Court, other courts must generally follow what the Supreme Court dictates. The courts follow precedent, in a rule also known as stare decisis. Once a superior court decides a matter, lower courts follow the rule that the superior court decides.
Examples of Case Precedent
The 1975 case of Goss v Lopez is an example. In that case, the Supreme Court held that public schools must generally provide procedural protections before suspending or expelling students. Since then, students have been able to invoke that due process right to challenge school suspensions and expulsions. Hundreds of cases have relied on Goss v Lopez, applying the procedural protections that it guaranteed. For another example, in the 1985 case of New Jersey v T.L.O., the Supreme Court held that students have some degree of privacy when in school, limiting the grounds on which school officials can search a student. Since then, students have been able to challenge unduly invasive and embarrassing school searches. These and other cases protect you relating to your college or university's actions or protect your minor student attending an elementary or secondary school.
Roles Courts Play in School Discipline Cases
Major court decisions, especially Supreme Court decisions, often determine the actions public school officials must take or must avoid taking. When your school's officials do not follow the mandated court guidelines, our attorneys are ready to step in to enforce your rights based on that critical case law in education. We can advocate that case law on your behalf to your school's officials and your school's general counsel or outside retained counsel. We can show your school what it must do or not do to respect your case law rights. If the school officials with whom you deal will not respect your legal rights, we can also invoke your school's procedures to bring your matter before an impartial decision-maker, where, once again, we can advocate your case law rights. Your state's administrative procedures act may also authorize us to appeal an adverse school decision directly to your state's courts. And if your school violates your federal constitutional rights, as the case law determines them, then we may be able to proceed directly to federal court to enforce your rights. Case law in education matters. It matters a lot.
How Issues Come to the Courts' Attention
Courts do not simply reach out and intervene as they see fit whenever they suspect a violation of legal rights. Instead, courts hear and decide only those cases that parties bring before them when those parties can demonstrate that they have a substantial interest to protect. If, for instance, your school violates your constitutional rights, then we would likely have the legal authority to file a complaint with the proper court against your school, asking the court to order your school to respect and restore your rights. That relief may include your reinstatement to school and the removal of discipline or other negative information from your school record. Students and others whom schools adversely affect bring the schools and their officials before the courts to answer for their wrongs. The courts are where students may need to go if they are unable to invoke the school's own procedures for the relief they seek.
Why Education Attorneys Know Case Law
Case law is especially important in the school setting. Public schools at any level, from elementary through secondary school and to college, the university, and graduate or professional school, are government entities. Their officials are government officials. The Constitution generally protects individuals against arbitrary and capricious government action, including when public school officials interfere with a student's liberty and property interest in education. Similar principles can apply to private schools, like public schools. The Constitution's due process, free speech, and other rights, though, are very broad rights that case law must define. Our attorneys know that constitutional case law and how it applies in the academic, administrative setting peculiar to school discipline cases. Do not retain unqualified local criminal defense counsel. The rules, procedures, and case law differ substantially from criminal court to the academic administrative setting.
Premier Student Representation Available
If you face school disciplinary charges or academic progress issues or have another dispute with your school, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team for your best outcome. We have successfully helped hundreds of students nationwide, applying critical case law in education. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now to tell us about your school discipline, academic progress matter, or other school issue. Know, value, and respect all that you have at stake.
