If you've found yourself on this page, it can mean only one thing: you're in trouble. No one clicks on a page about appealing disciplinary sanctions unless they've already been given one—suspension and dismissal are the two most likely possibilities—or they fear that one is imminent.
Maybe you tried to handle a disciplinary case on your own. You didn't want to get your parents involved, and you figured, at worst, you'd wind up with a slap on the wrist. That's not what happened. Or maybe you did tell your parents, and they did what seemed logical at the time: they hired a local or family attorney to represent you, and that attorney quickly got in over their heads. It happens more often than you might think. It's no easy task taking on a university if it is convinced you've broken the rules and is determined to punish you.
Now, you need to do what you should have done in the first place: call the Lento Law Firm. We're not just defense attorneys. Our Student Defense Team was founded to help students get fair treatment from their universities and the best possible resolution to their cases.
What can we do for you? Call to find out at 888-535-3686, or tell us more about your problem by filling out our online questionnaire.
The Reality of the Situation
We aren't going to sugarcoat things: you are genuinely in trouble. If you've been found Responsible for (guilty of) a serious offense like weapons possession, hazing, repeated underage drinking, or sexual assault, you're likely facing suspension or expulsion. In themselves, those punishments are major disruptions to your academic progress. In addition, though, they could spell the end of your college career or, at a minimum, do significant damage to your employment prospects.
Suspension and expulsion are noted on your transcript. That means you can't just transfer your way out of this situation. Few universities are willing to take a chance on a student who's already been dismissed from another school. And while suspension might allow you to return to Cornell and finish your degree, you're still going to have to explain your offense any time you go into a job interview.
At this point, you've been through an investigation and a hearing. You don't get a re-do for those processes. Your back is against the wall.
Here's the good news: Cornell does give you the right to appeal your case. Or, it may be possible to negotiate a settlement that allows you to leave school without a black mark on your transcript. Success is never guaranteed in these cases, though, and you're going to need the very best help you can get. You're going to need an attorney from the Lento Law Firm.
The Appeals Process at Cornell
If you've been through an investigation and hearing already, you probably already realize that Cornell provides you with several due process protections any time you're accused of misconduct. You were treated as Not Responsible (innocent) until you were proven Responsible (guilty). You had the right to present evidence and to question witnesses. You had the right to be an advisor and to choose an attorney for that role.
Your final due process right is the right to appeal the outcome of your case. It's important you understand, though, that you cannot simply appeal because you disagree with that outcome. You must have “grounds” for appeal, and those grounds are limited:
- An allegation that a university official or a member of the hearing panel who decided your case committed some procedural error that had a direct impact on the outcome of the case
- An argument that the hearing panel's decision was clearly erroneous.
- The discovery of new evidence that would likely have had an impact on the hearing panel's decision
- A claim that the sanction determined by the hearing panel is "substantially" disproportionate to the nature of the offense
All appeals are heard by a three-member Review Panel. You must file within 10 days of being notified of the original hearing outcome. Your written appeal statement must include the determination you are appealing, the specific grounds for your appeal, and a list of the facts supporting those grounds. The panel then has 30 days in which to review your appeal and render a judgment.
Ultimately, your Cornell Review Panel will choose one of six options:
- The panel can uphold the original decision
- The panel can reverse the hearing outcome
- The panel can modify/ reduce a sanction
- The panel can remand the case back to the original Hearing Panel for reconsideration
- The panel can remand the case to a new Hearing Panel for a new hearing
- The panel can recommend an entirely new investigation into the case
Note that you do not have the right to a hearing as you did before. Appeals involve written documents, and the Review Panel makes its determination in a closed-door session. You have no right to address panel members or to call witnesses to testify. This is one reason it is so important you have a Lento Law Firm attorney on your side during this process. Your future rests on the quality of your appeal—the validity of your arguments, the substance of your evidence, and the writing itself. We have helped hundreds of students file such appeals. We know what panels look for in these documents, and we know how to use the system to your benefit.
Why the Lento Law Firm?
You may already have a sense of why you need to contact the Lento Law Firm to handle your disciplinary appeal at Cornell. If you've been through the university's judicial process, you know how complex it can be. Rules and procedures are difficult to navigate. Faculty and administrators tend to close ranks. You don't want to take on the school by yourself.
Likewise, you don't want to hire just any attorney. A family or local lawyer won't be familiar with how campus judicial processes work. They might be perfectly fine talking to a local judge and dealing with a prosecutor, but they won't know how to talk with academics, and that's who'll be deciding your case.
Not only do we know education law and Cornell's system, but we have relationships with Office of General Counsel (OGC) attorneys for schools all over the country. Every school has an OGC to offer legal advice. If it becomes necessary, we can work after an appeal to negotiate a fair settlement with Cornell.
Fight For Your Future
We can't promise you that you can win your disciplinary case on appeal. We can promise you, though, that you can't win if you don't appeal.
You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by appealing, and hiring the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team gives you your very best chance of success. Don't wait, though. Appeals at Cornell must be filed within 10 days.
Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
