George Washington University gives students the right to bring a support person with them to investigative meetings and hearings. And while that support person is not allowed to “represent” you—speak on your behalf or conduct your defense—they can offer advice throughout the process. More importantly, an attorney can play a crucial role in developing your defense and helping you prepare for meetings and proceedings.
If you're here now, though, it likely means you didn't take advantage of this right. Or maybe you did, but you hired a local attorney, someone who doesn't have experience handling campus judicial cases.
The damage is done. You were found responsible for (guilty of) an offense. You were issued a sanction. You do still have one good option: you have the right to appeal the outcome of your hearing and/ or the sanction. The other good news is that you've found your way to this page.
The Lento Law Firm is the premier firm in the country for handling student misconduct cases. The attorneys on our Student Defense Team know the law, and they know the GWU administrative and judicial systems. They've worked with hundreds of students and responded to every type of misconduct charge.
Finding your way to this page is just the start, though. The next step is to call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686. You can also use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your case. You need to do that sooner rather than later, though. GWU gives you just five days from the end of your hearing to file your appeal.
The Appeals Process at George Washington University
Students don't always take advantage of their right to appeal. You've been through a tough process, and you've been trying to juggle your defense while you continue to take classes. You're exhausted at this point, and the idea of filing an appeal may feel overwhelming.
The thing is, there's an enormous amount at stake. If you've been dismissed from the university, you're going to have trouble finding another school willing to accept you with a serious misconduct finding on your record. Even if you've only been suspended, your transcript will include a notation about your offense, and that can have serious repercussions on your job search. At this point, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by filing an appeal.
It's important you understand, though, that an appeal is very different from the hearing you already went through. To start with, the purpose of an appeal is very different from a hearing. The goal of your hearing was to decide whether or not you were "responsible for" (guilty of) violating school policy. The goal of an appeal is to determine whether or not you were treated fairly during the process. This fundamental difference shapes the procedures, and it dictates how you prepare to defend yourself.
- You're not presenting arguments in support of your innocence anymore. You're arguing over whether or not the investigation and hearing were fair. What you need is “grounds” to support your appeal. Those grounds are limited as well. At GWU, you only have three options. You can argue
- A procedural error occurred that affected the outcome of the case
- New evidence has arisen that could have affected the outcome of the case
- The sanction imposed is clearly disproportionate to the nature of your offense.
- You are no longer presumed "Not Responsible" (Innocent). The hearing determined, in fact, that you are "Responsible" (guilty). That means that where the burden before was on the school to prove your guilt, the burden is now on you to prove the school made a mistake.
- Appeals at GWU don't involve formal hearings. You will not have an opportunity to present evidence or call witnesses to testify. Even more important, you will not be able to plead your case in person. Your entire case rests on your appeal. That written document must speak for you.
- Unless you have uncovered significant new evidence, the appeals officer or panel won't consider anything other than the record of the original hearing. You must be able to find evidence somewhere in that record that you were mistreated.
- There is no possibility that you will be found “Not Responsible” as a result of your appeal. That's not the function of an appeal. The officer or panel has four options. They can
- Affirm the original hearing decision
- Recommend a revised sanction
- Return the case to the original hearing officer or panel for a new hearing
- Request a new officer or panel hear the case
Without question, these factors mean you face an uphill battle. That doesn't mean you should give up. Again, there's too much on the line to give up now. In addition, though, there's a reason GWU gives you the right to appeal. Hearing officers and panels do get things wrong. You weren't tried in a court of law by legal experts under strictly regulated circumstances. Even in those kinds of cases, mistakes happen. You faced an administrator or perhaps faculty members and students. Mistakes under those circumstances are almost bound to happen, and you deserve justice when they do.
Just as important, you're not alone in this fight. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are on your side.
- We'll work quickly to decide on the best arguments for your appeal.
- We'll review the record of your hearing and look for evidence to back up your appeal.
- We'll draft an appeal that is compelling and clear.
- We'll monitor every aspect of your case to ensure GWU respects your rights.
Fight For Your Future
We won't sugarcoat it: you're in a difficult situation with limited options. You've already been found "Responsible" for an offense, and you don't have a lot of rights left to help you overturn that verdict. Given those parameters, we can't promise to win your appeal. No one can. Here's what we can promise you, though: no one gives you a better chance of winning your appeal than the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team. No one knows the system the way we do, and no one is better positioned to leverage that system to your benefit. If you know you are innocent, if you believe you've been treated unfairly, we can help.
You cannot afford to wait, though. The window for filing your appeal at George Washington University is just five days. That's not a lot of time to build your defense. Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
