A student's defense from a disciplinary allegation is never an easy proposition. You're facing the weight of a large, bureaucratic institution, and you should expect faculty and administrators to close ranks against you. You also need to know that you're not subject to the old "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard of justice. Rice employs a very different standard: the "preponderance of the evidence" standard. If decision-makers think it's "more likely than not" that you committed an offense, they're obligated to find you Responsible (guilty).
An appeal can be an even tougher road. You've already been found guilty of an offense, and the burden is on you now to prove the university should reconsider your case.
Is it worth all the trouble? Always. If you're facing dismissal, you can't just transfer your way out of it. You'll have a notation on your transcript about the nature of your offense, and that can make it virtually impossible to enroll somewhere else. Suspension means taking a break from studies and coming back after that can be difficult. Even something as minor as a warning, though, can put your future in jeopardy. If it should show up in your permanent record or wind up floating around the internet, a disciplinary violation of any type can cost you a chance at graduate school and can even follow you around to job interviews.
It's a daunting situation, but what choice do you have?
Here's the good news: you're not alone. The Lento Law Firm exists to help students get the rights they deserve. Our Student Defense Team is here to stand beside you throughout the appeals process. We know the law; we know how Rice University operates, and we're willing to put what we know to work to save your future.
You need to act quickly, though. Call 888-535-3686 or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your case.
The Appeals Process at Rice University
A university judicial case is not the same as an actual court case. Make no mistake, though: Rice University wants justice to be done. To that end, it provides students with a number of due process protections, designed to make sure you are treated fairly. As a starting point, you were regarded as "Not Responsible" (innocent) up until the point when you were proven "Responsible" (guilty). You were afforded an investigation and a hearing. You were allowed to review all the evidence in the case.
Things are different now. You've exhausted most of those rights. The one important right you have left is the right to an appeal. And even this right comes with some limitations. For example, you don't have an unlimited amount of time to file this appeal. Rice gives you just ten business days from the end of your original hearing. In addition, you must have "grounds" in order to file an appeal. All students who have been accused of misconduct are entitled to an investigation and a hearing. Only students who have been mistreated in some way by the judicial process have the right to appeal.
Rice allows four separate grounds for appeal, and appellate officials have the authority to dismiss an appeal if they feel the grounds aren't sufficient.
- An allegation that some aspect of the judicial process was unfair;
- The discovery of new information that could potentially have altered the outcome of the case;
- A claim that the decision was based on insufficient evidence;
- A complaint that the sanction is disproportionate to the nature of the offense.
- You face other difficulties as well as part of the process.
- You are no longer presumed innocent. Quite the opposite, in fact. You've been found Responsible for an offense. Where the school had the burden of proof before, that burden now rests on you.
- Appeals do not involve hearings. You don't have an opportunity to make your case in person or to call witnesses to testify. This means there's a lot of pressure on your appeal document itself. It must make your arguments in clear terms.
- In most cases, appeals are decided by a single individual rather than a panel or committee of decision-makers. This means your future rests in the hands of a single individual.
None of this information should dissuade you from appealing. Again, you have nothing to lose at this point, especially if you're facing suspension or dismissal. And students can and do win appeals. We've already said it, but it bears repeating: the Rice judicial process is not a court case. You're not facing seasoned judges who have been to law school. Arguments aren't presented by prosecuting attorneys. You're dealing with faculty and administrators—calculus professors, English T.A.s, and, in some cases, students. Mistakes do happen. That's why the appeals process exists.
All of this information is to point out, though, that appeals are by no means easy. You need someone, for instance, who can evaluate your situation and help you develop the strongest possible grounds for your appeal. Likewise, you need someone on your side to work with to draft the appeal itself, to make sure your arguments are well-organized and come across clearly and that they are well-supported with evidence from hearing documents. Perhaps most important of all, you need someone in your corner who is keeping track of the entire process, who's making sure your rights are protected and that justice is being done. In short, you need someone from the Lento Law Firm.
Fight For Your Future
We won't promise you something we can't deliver. It wouldn't be fair to offer some guarantee that we can win your case. The truth is that, at this point, you are in a difficult situation with limited options. You don't have a lot of rights left to you, and you've already been found "Responsible" for an offense. No one can promise a victory under those conditions.
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.
You cannot afford to wait, though. The window for filing your appeal at Rice is just ten 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.
