If you’ve been found guilty of an offense at Marshall University, you’re definitely behind the eight-ball. You’re not done just yet, though. You still have the option of filing an appeal. That’s not Option A, but it can salvage your academic career if you do it right.
You never want to go into an appeal alone, though. It can be a tricky procedure, mostly because it’s not intuitive. And if you can’t wrap your brain around what’s involved, you can be sure your efforts won’t go anywhere.
Luckily, there’s help available. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights, and we’ve helped hundreds of students over the years. We know exactly what’s involved in the MU process and procedures, including how to put together the strongest possible appeal.
We’re always on your side and ready to help, but it’s important you act quickly. Marshall gives you just five days to file your appeal, and that’s not a lot of time to prepare your arguments and evidence. Don’t wait. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 to find out what we can do for your case, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
The Filing Process
Writing an appeal is tough. Filing it is not. Still, you need to make sure you do it all correctly. You don’t want to wind up suspended or dismissed over a technicality. So before we get into writing your appeal, let’s talk about how to file it.
- If you’re appealing a Hearing Board decision, you should direct that request to the Vice President of Intercultural and Student Affairs, who serves as the Appeal Officer at the university. Again, you have just five days to do this once you’ve received notification of your hearing outcome.
- There are no hearings in appeals cases. Instead, the Vice President has thirty days to review your materials before issuing a final decision in the case.
Ultimately, there are three possible outcomes to an appeal: the Vice President can affirm the original decision, modify the terms of your sanctions, or order a new hearing.
Writing the Appeal
As we mentioned, the real challenge of an appeal has to do with writing, and specifically with coming to terms with your situation. Of course, you won’t have the chance to speak directly to the Appeal Officer, so that puts tremendous pressure on the quality of your writing. If you can’t get a handle on the arguments, though, even a beautifully written document won’t protect you.
The thing is, you’re going to want to argue that you’re innocent. That’s what you’ve been arguing up until now, and it’s your natural instinct. But you are guilty, at least on paper. That’s what the Hearing Board determined. And if you keep on arguing that you’re innocent, the Vice President won’t even bother to examine your documents.
So what are you arguing? Appeals are about whether or not the process worked the way it was supposed to. So, you’re arguing that it didn’t. There are three options.
- The university didn’t follow its own procedures, or it treated you unfairly in some other way. Maybe you weren’t given enough time to prepare your case. Maybe the Hearing Board refused to hear from a witness you were entitled to present. Whatever the situation, you deserve a new hearing under fair conditions.
- You can argue that the evidence doesn’t actually prove your responsibility. Remember that the evidence must demonstrate that it is “more likely than not” that you committed the offense. Otherwise, you’re innocent of the charges. If the evidence doesn’t add up, you deserve a new hearing.
- A new piece of evidence has come to light that wasn’t available at the time of your hearing. You can’t use that evidence to prove your innocence in an appeal. Appeals aren’t about innocence. But you can argue that this evidence warrants consideration—a new hearing with all the available material.
- You can also argue that you’re facing an unfair sanction, one that doesn’t fit the severity of your offense. In this instance, you won’t get a new appeal. However, you should be eligible for a reduced sanction.
You have other challenges to face, in addition to selecting a new argument. Again—and we cannot emphasize this enough—you aren’t innocent anymore. That means you aren’t entitled to the “presumption of innocence.” That was an important presumption. It put the entire weight of the case on the university. You didn’t need evidence at your hearing. The university needed evidence. All you had to do was disprove their evidence.
Now, however, the burden is on you. You’re accusing the university of failing to provide you with a fair hearing, and that means the university is presumed innocent, and you must uncover enough evidence to overcome that presumption.
Can you do that? Absolutely. Colleges and universities aren’t set up to dispense justice, and they typically do a pretty poor job of it. All you need to do is come up with one mistake to warrant a new hearing, and you don’t even have to do that on your own. The LLF National Law Firm will go over the entire record of your case. If there are grounds for an appeal, we’ll find them, and we’ll make sure they’re presented in a document that is both persuasive and compelling.
The Office of General Counsel
The university will tell you that an appeal is your last shot at justice at Marshall. That’s not strictly true. The LLF National Law Firm can help you file a petition directly with the university administration. Sometimes that can result in a lessened sanction or even case dismissal. At a minimum, we can ask MU to remove your offense from your transcript. That will enable you to transfer to another school and finish your degree.
How does this process work?
Every college and university has an Office of General Counsel. These are attorneys schools hire to provide them with legal advice. As you might imagine, their opinions carry enormous weight on campus. If an OGC suggests a university president negotiate with a student, you can be sure that the university president will participate in negotiations.
Because we work so extensively in the field of student defense, the LLF National Law Firm maintains relationships with OGC around the country. If it can help a client get justice, we’re always willing to leverage these relationships.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm With Your Case
Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from Marshall University, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here and ready to help. We’ll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure your case is airtight, and guarantee the college 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 LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.