If you've been found guilty of misconduct at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, you may have trouble believing this, but the school does actually want to make sure justice is done in student cases. That's why you were presumed innocent at the beginning of the investigation. It's why you were allowed to review all the evidence against you and to call witnesses to testify on your behalf.
The appeals process is part of New Jersey Tech's attempt to give you a fair opportunity to defend yourself. You need to know, though, that an appeal is a very particular type of judicial process, and it usually requires a dramatic change in defense strategy. As a result, it's never a good idea to undertake an appeal all on your own.
Luckily, you don't have to. The Lento Law Firm is here to help. Our Student Defense Team is dedicated to protecting student rights. We've helped hundreds of students just like you defend themselves from all types of charges. We understand the New Jersey Institute of Technology's judicial procedures, including appeals, and how to use the process to your best advantage.
It's important you contact us quickly, though. Once you are informed of your hearing outcome, you have just five business days to file your appeal. That's not a lot of time to get your materials together. 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 the New Jersey Institute of Technology
The most important thing to understand as you move into the appeals phase of your case is that an appeal is not a hearing. The steps involved in an appeal are all relatively straightforward. The situation is fundamentally different than what you've been through, though, and you must take these differences into account if you're going to succeed.
- The most important change in your situation? You've been found “Responsible for” (guilty of) an offense. That changes everything. You probably mounted some defense in response to the charges against you, but you didn't have to. Instead, the school had the burden of proving you had committed an offense. Now that you're presumed responsible, you have the burden of proving that NJIT made some kind of mistake in your case.
- “Mistake” in a judicial sense doesn't just mean the school got the verdict wrong. Instead, it is very narrowly defined as some denial of fairness. Appeals aren't about guilt and innocence. Instead, they are about establishing “grounds” – reasons why you think you deserve a new hearing. There are only three possible grounds at New Jersey Tech:
- The school committed a procedural error in your case significant enough to have altered the outcome of the hearing.
- New evidence has come to light that wasn't available at the time of the hearing, but that could have altered the outcome of the hearing.
- You've been assigned a penalty that is disproportionate to the nature of your offense.
- You don't have carte blanche when it comes to supporting your grounds for appeal. Unless you have discovered some new evidence, you must rely solely on the record of the original hearing.
- Your case may have been decided by a panel of decision-makers, and a majority of that panel had to decide you were guilty before you were actually found guilty. Not so now. A single Appeals Officer has sole authority to decide whether or not to grant your appeal.
- You'll have no chance to make your case in person. There is no hearing, there are no witnesses, and you are not allowed to contact the Appeals Officer. The entirety of your argument must be contained in a written document.
- The best-case scenario is a new hearing. The Appeals Officer can reduce your sanction or decide you deserve another chance to make your case. They cannot, however, decide you are innocent of the charges. That is not under their purview.
The first thing you can expect the Lento Law Firm attorney to do when you contact them is sit down with you and go over the entirety of your case. In particular, they'll comb through the record of your original hearing, looking for grounds to file your appeal. Once they've identified a basis for your argument, they'll draft a written document that is both clear and compelling.
What's at Stake
There's no question that winning an appeal is a more difficult prospect than winning a hearing. You have exhausted some of your most important due process rights at this point, and you face a process that is more constrained. None of this suggests, however, that you should simply give up. The reality, in fact, is that you must fight on.
For one thing, there is no tomorrow should you lose your appeal. It's not just that you face suspension or dismissal from NJIT. Both of those sanctions include a transcript notation about the nature of your offense. That can keep you from transferring to another school. If you've been dismissed, you'll likely be heading onto the job market with no degree at all. If you've been suspended, you can return to NJIT and earn your diploma—though that is often easier said than done—but you'll still have to explain your offense when you go in for interviews.
There's another important reason to keep fighting, though. Right is on your side, and you can win. There's every possibility NJIT made a mistake in your case. That's common on university campuses, where faculty and students are put in charge of dispensing justice. You also have an advantage you didn't have going into your hearing: the Lento Law Firm attorney at your side. We know what to expect. We've done this before, and we'll make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
Fight For Your Future
The appeals process at the New Jersey Institute of Technology exists for a reason. You deserve justice. You can count on the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team to protect your rights and to make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. Ten days is not long to put together a strong appeal. Get started now. Contact the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
