Let's be clear: you're in a tough spot. For whatever reason, you found yourself accused of misconduct at Georgia Tech. That's never a fun position to be in. Things have gotten worse since then, though. You've been through both an investigation and a hearing, and you've been found Responsible for (guilty of) the offense. You do have one last option: an appeal. But you need to know right up front that there are no guarantees when it comes to appeals. You face a steep burden of proof at this point, and even if you should win your appeal, it doesn't mean you're "Not Responsible" (innocent). It simply means you get to go through the process again.
We're not telling you this to convince you to give up. In fact, you can't afford to give up now. If you're looking for legal help at this point, it probably means that you've been hit with a serious sanction—suspension maybe, but more likely dismissal. The real punishment of those sanctions is that they're listed on your transcript. That means it may be impossible to transfer to another school. You could be forced to head out onto the job market without a degree. The bottom line is you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by filing an appeal.
We are telling you, though, that this is not the sort of process you want to try and handle on your own. You need help. You realize that, or, again, you wouldn't be here. We're guessing you tried to go it alone at your hearing, and it didn't work out.
You've come to the right place. You're in a tough spot, and at this point, the Lento Law Firm is your very best hope of salvaging your academic career. We have the premier Student Defense Team in the country, with attorneys who have handled hundreds of cases. We care about student rights, and we want you to find the best possible resolution to your case.
You don't have a lot of time to waste, though. You have just five days from the end of your hearing to file an appeal. That's not much time, and there's a lot of work to be done. Don't wait. Call 888-535-3686 today. Or use our online questionnaire right now to tell us more about your case.
The Appeals Process at Georgia Tech
The right to appeal is one of your important due process rights, a right you're granted simply by being a Georgia Tech student. GT wants to make sure it gets justice right. In fact, you don't just have the right to appeal once. You have the right to appeal to the Vice President of Student Life, the President of the University, and the Georgia Board of Regents. It's your job, though, to make the most of this right.
How do you do that? You make sure you know what to expect. First, it's important you understand that an appeal is not like the hearing you went through before. As Georgia Tech explains it, an appeal is not a "higher level hearing." That fact must shape how you and your Lento Law Firm attorney approach the case.
What is an appeal? It's an opportunity to argue that you were treated unfairly during your investigation and/or hearing. The original hearing was part of the judicial process meant to determine whether or not you were Responsible for an offense. The appeal is one last check on the system. In fact, it's unusual for an appeal to lead to a Not Responsible finding. Instead, should you win your appeal, the decision-maker will remand the case for a brand new hearing.
As a starting point, then, you'll need a new set of arguments for your defense. You can't argue about all the reasons why you are innocent the way you did before. The appeals officer in charge of your case isn't allowed to consider those kinds of arguments. Instead, you must establish “grounds.” Grounds are reasons why you deserve another chance to present your case. Georgia Tech only allows appeals for three reasons. You'll need to choose one of these.
- You have uncovered new evidence that you could not have known about before the original hearing, evidence that could have some bearing on the outcome of the case.
- Some procedural error occurred, which resulted in an unfair outcome. Here again, you must be able to show that the error could have affected that outcome in some way.
- The outcome is not supported by the weight of evidence in the case.
There are additional aspects of the appeals process you need to consider as you prepare.
- You may have presented your original case to a panel of decision-makers (a Student Conduct Panel). Your appeal is reviewed by just one administrator.
- Your argument is different this time around; so is your evidence. Unless you have discovered a new piece of primary evidence, the only evidence you are allowed to present is the record of the original hearing.
- You don't have the opportunity to speak to the appeal official. Your entire case must be contained in your written appeal.
Again, the burden is on you now. You're no longer considered Not Responsible as you were before your hearing. You've been found Responsible. It is up to you to demonstrate that you deserve a new hearing.
That is not an insurmountable burden, however. You weren't investigated by the police. You weren't tried in a court of law. Your case has been handled by administrators, faculty, and other students. In those kinds of circumstances, mistakes happen all the time. The reason Georgia Tech has an appeals process is so it can correct those mistakes.
We can help. How? We'll work with you to identify the best possible grounds for your appeal. We'll go through the record of the hearing and identify evidence to support those grounds. We'll help you draft a strong appeal that lays out your case in plain language. And we'll monitor everything that happens to ensure you're treated fairly throughout the process.
Fight For Your Future
We said it in the beginning, but it bears repeating: you're in a difficult situation with limited options. You started out with several due process rights. You've used most of them. You've also been found “Responsible” for an offense. 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 Georgia Tech 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.
