If you've shown up here, you've already lost your Cal State Long Beach case. You're probably not facing a light sanction, either. Most students don't bother appealing probation or loss of gym privileges, even if they're entirely innocent of the charges. No, you're facing suspension or possibly dismissal, and you know those sanctions can be life-altering.
The good news is that Cal State Long Beach allows students to appeal Responsible (guilty) outcomes. You still have a chance to salvage your academic future.
The better news? You're allowed to get help. CSULB lets you choose an advisor to help you with the process, and you're allowed to select an attorney to fill this role.
The best news of all, though, is that you've found your way to this page. The Lento Law Firm is the premier firm in the country when it comes to representing students. Our Student Defense Team has helped hundreds of students get the justice they deserve. We know CSULB's judicial process, including how to file appeals, and we're always on your side, no matter what.
You need to act quickly, though. From the moment you're notified of the hearing outcome, you have just ten working days to file your appeal. That's not a lot of time to prepare your case. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
The Appeals Process at Cal State Long Beach
On paper, the CSULB appeals process sounds reasonably straightforward. Within ten days of the end of your hearing, you file a document with the Chancellor's Office asking that the university reconsider the hearing outcome. You lay out your reasons and support them with evidence. The Chancellor makes a ruling. Simple enough.
However, an appeal requires a complete shift in thinking and, as a result, can often be harder than going through the investigation and the original hearing. Everything has changed at this point, and it's incumbent upon you to understand what those changes mean.
- First and foremost, you are no longer "innocent" of the offense. In the beginning, CSULB was obligated to treat you as "innocent" (Not Responsible) until you were proven "guilty" (Responsible). This put the burden of the case on the university. You may have presented some evidence of your innocence, but you didn't need to. All you needed to do was poke holes in the school's evidence. Now, however, the burden is on you. The presumption is that CSULB treated you fairly. It is up to you to prove otherwise.
- “Unfair treatment" doesn't mean you don't like the outcome. Of course, you don't like the outcome. That's a given. That fact doesn't entitle you to an appeal, though. In fact, CSULB recognizes just four grounds for appeal.
- There was no reasonable basis for the findings or conclusions.
- Procedural errors occurred that may have affected the case outcome.
- New evidence has arisen since the conclusion of the case that could impact the outcome.
- The university imposed sanctions that are unreasonable, given the nature of the offense.
- Depending on the nature of the charges against you, you may have faced a single decision-maker or a panel of decision-makers. As part of the appeal, you face just one appeals officer, an administrator appointed by the Chancellor's Office.
- There are no hearings in appeals cases. You must make your entire case in a written document. This can put enormous stress on your abilities as a writer.
- If you have uncovered new evidence, you can offer an argument that your case deserves reconsideration. Otherwise, however, all of your evidence must be drawn from the record of your original investigation and hearing. Remember, you are not arguing for your innocence; you are arguing that you were treated unfairly by the system.
- The Chancellor cannot overturn your hearing outcome. They have three options. First, they can affirm the original hearing outcome. Second, they can alter the terms of your sanction. Finally, they can, if they believe you were treated unfairly, order a new hearing.
Attorneys are not allowed to “represent” students at CSULB. In any case, there are no hearings in the appeals phase of a case. What, then, is your Lento Law Firm attorney's role in helping you file your appeal?
First and foremost, they'll make sure you fully understand exactly what is involved in your appeal. They'll sit down with you and go over your entire case from start to finish. They'll comb through the hearing records, looking for grounds for your appeal. They'll identify your very best arguments and draft the appeal itself. Throughout all of this, they'll keep a close eye on what happens to ensure you are treated fairly and that you get the very best possible resolution to your case.
What's at Stake
For all the difficulty inherent in the appeals process, you cannot walk away from your case now. For one thing, you've invested an enormous amount of time and energy in building your defense. After all of that, you deserve justice.
It's also true, though, that a Responsible finding can haunt your entire professional career. Keep in mind that if you've been dismissed, CSULB will add a notation to your transcript that explains in detail the nature of your offense. That will almost certainly keep you from transferring somewhere else, meaning your academic studies are effectively over. You already know what the statistics say about employees without college degrees. Even if you've only been suspended, you'll have to deal with that same transcript notation. That means you may manage to graduate, but your Responsible finding will likely continue to affect your job prospects.
And despite the fact that you face an uphill battle at this point, students can and do win appeals all the time. The reason is simple: when it comes to justice, colleges and universities make a lot of mistakes. Schools aren't really set up to decide weighty judicial matters, and while they do receive some minimal training, faculty, administrators, and students don't always know what's fair when it comes to investigations and hearings. Their mistakes may have cost you a Not Responsible verdict, but now they can be useful for gaining you a second chance at justice.
Plus, you aren't taking on your appeal alone. You have a Lento Law firm attorney on your side this time around, and no one gives you a better chance at a successful outcome.
Fight for Your Future
Whether you're entirely innocent or you're simply looking to get fair treatment from Cal State Long Beach, 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 Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
