You didn’t hire any attorney when Rutgers charged you with misconduct. You didn’t hire one when you were facing a hearing. We get it. Rutgers is very clear in its disciplinary procedures that students aren’t allowed to use attorneys as advisors. Instead, you were forced to work with a Campus Advisor who may or may not have had your best interests at heart.

The thing is, even if the LLF National Law Firm attorney can’t accompany you to investigative meetings and hearings, they can play a crucial role in your defense. Not only can they develop a strategy and arguments, but they can help uncover evidence, suggest questions for witnesses, draft documents, and even prep you to make your presentations.

Now, you’re facing a serious sanction—maybe suspension or dismissal. The good news is that you realize now just how important it can be to have the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team on your side. The even better news? You still have the opportunity to appeal your case, and we can help. We know education law, and we know how the Rutgers judicial system operates. We’re always on your side, and we always have your best interests at heart.

How can we help? Call 888-535-3686 to find out, or use our online questionnaire right now to tell us more about your case. Don’t wait, though. You have just ten working days from the end of your hearing to file your appeal.

It’s Your Right – Use It

You may be reticent to file an appeal. After all, you’ve been through a lot already. Just being charged with a misconduct offense can be traumatic. Then, you had to deal with an investigation and a hearing, and you did that all on your own while trying to juggle coursework. It’s understandable that you might be ready to throw in the towel at this point.

Here’s why you have to keep fighting: your entire future is at risk. That’s no exaggeration. If you’re dismissed, it’s the end of your career at Rutgers. You lose whatever progress you’ve made up to this point. The best you can do is start over. But starting over can be hard, too, because your transcript will now include a notation describing your offense. The situation is a little better if you’re facing suspension since you can return to Rutgers and finish your degree. It’s not easy going back after being away, though, and again, your transcript will still contain a record of your offense. That will make job interviews tough.

And the thing is, you have the right to appeal your case. It may not feel like it right now, but Rutgers does want justice to be done. The university treated you as Not Responsible (innocent), for instance, until it proved you Responsible (guilty). You had the right to review the evidence against you. You were notified before every meeting and hearing so you could prepare. It’s not always easy to know how to use due process rights effectively, and because you were on your own, you may have made some mistakes. You still have the right to appeal, though. Make sure you have the LLF National Law Firm on your side to help you prepare.

The Appeals Process at Rutgers

Let’s be clear: you are facing an uphill battle. Many of those rights you had before are gone. For example, you are no longer presumed innocent. In fact, the opposite is true: you are presumed guilty. The most important right you have left is the right to appeal the hearing outcome, and even that right comes with some restrictions.

First, Rutgers isn’t going to just allow you to appeal. You must have “grounds” for an appeal. Grounds are reasons you think the system didn’t treat you fairly the first time around. There are only three possible grounds for appeal at the university:

  • The finding of Responsible is not supported by the facts.
  • New evidence has arisen since the end of the hearing that could have a bearing on the outcome.
  • Some procedural error occurred significant enough to have affected the outcome.

You can also admit your offense and appeal the severity of the sanction.

Even if you have clear grounds for an appeal, it can be challenging to convince the Conduct Appeals Committee (CAC) to accept those grounds.

  • The CAC does not hold hearings. That is, you will not be allowed to address committee members. That’s a significant disadvantage since decision-makers are always more likely to rule in your favor if they can put a face to your name. Just as important, you won’t be able to use your own voice to argue for your innocence. You must rely entirely on written documents to make your case.
  • With the exception of new evidence, the only material the CAC reviews is the record of the hearing. An appeal is not a chance to retry your case, and evidence of your innocence is irrelevant during this phase of the case. All arguments must relate to the fairness of procedures.
  • Even if you should win your appeal, it doesn’t mean your case is over. The CAC can reduce your sanction, but you’ll still have to deal with the sanction. Or, the CAC can remand your case for a new hearing, in which case you’ll have to prepare your original arguments all over again.

Fight for Your Future

We won’t sugarcoat the situation. You don’t have as many rights as you did before. The fact is, though, that you do have a right to appeal and students do win their cases on appeal. You weren’t dealing with legal experts during the original investigation and hearing. You were dealing with faculty, students, and administrators. It’s entirely possible that you were treated unfairly. If you were, you deserve justice.

You can’t hope to win your appeal all on your own. You’re going to need help, the best help you can find. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is always ready to step in and defend you to the fullest possible extent. We can make sure your appeal is airtight and compelling. We’re not just attorneys; we’re student attorneys. We do this for a living, and we’re very, very good at it.

You cannot afford to wait, though. The window for filing your appeal at Rutgers is just ten working days, and there’s a lot to do to prepare. Contact the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

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