Let's be clear right from the beginning: if you've been found "Responsible" (guilty) for disciplinary misconduct at Stanford University, you face an uphill battle to preserve your educational future. You're no longer presumed "Not Responsible," you won't get another opportunity to address decision-makers, and the list of arguments you can make at this point is limited.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't appeal your case. A Responsible finding is serious, and if you've been suspended or dismissed, your entire future could be on the line. Keep in mind that suspension and expulsion come with a transcript notation about the nature of your offense. That likely means you won't be able to convince another college or university to accept you. You have nothing to lose by continuing your fight and everything to gain.
You're going to need help, though – the best help you can find.
The Lento Law Firm was founded to help students get the justice they deserve. Our Student Defense Team is focused on educational law and protecting student rights. We've helped hundreds of students defend themselves from all types of charges, and we understand the Stanford University system, including how the appeals process works. We can help you navigate that process and ensure you get a fair chance to make your case.
However, it's important that you contact the Lento Law Firm as soon as possible. Stanford gives you just 20 days to file your appeal, and there's a lot of work to do before you can do that. Don't wait. Call us today at 888-535-3686 today, or take time right now to fill out our online questionnaire.
Your Remaining Options
If you're here, it's almost certainly because you're facing a serious sanction – most likely suspension or dismissal. That means you've been through an investigation, and you've had the chance to make your case at a formal hearing. Along the way, Stanford provided you with a number of due process rights, like the right to a presumption of "Not Responsible," the right to review all the evidence in the case, and the right to advanced notification of all proceedings.
Maybe you wound up in this position because you didn't take your case seriously enough. You thought you could handle everything on your own and that the worst that might happen is you'd get a stern lecture from the dean. Or maybe you hired a local or family attorney, and they just didn't know enough about how Stanford's judicial system operates. It's also possible that you were simply treated unfairly by your Conduct Investigator or the Hearing Panel.
Whatever the situation, your options have dwindled, but you do still have some.
- First, you have one final due process right: the right to appeal the hearing outcome.
- Should your appeal fail, you can also try negotiating directly with Stanford.
You're going to need help with either of these options. Appeals can be delicate procedures, and it's always difficult to convince a university to negotiate. It has to be motivated to do so. At the Lento Law Firm, though, we're not just defense attorneys. We are dedicated to helping students, and we've spent our careers working with university systems. We know the Stanford system, and we know how to use rules and procedures to your best advantage. If there's a way to win your case, you can trust us to find it.
The Appeals Process at Stanford
You should start by appealing your hearing outcome. The right to appeal is actually one of your guaranteed due process rights at Stanford.
The difficulty is in finding a compelling argument for your appeal. You don't simply get to re-argue your case. An appeal is not a "do-over." Appeals have to do with correcting some problem in the original case, and you must have "grounds" in order to convince Stanford to consider your appeal in the first place.
At Stanford, there are five separate grounds you can use.
- New evidence that has a bearing on the case outcome
- Bias on the part of a Hearing Panel member
- Significant error by the Conduct Investigator or the Conduct Advisor
- Significant procedural error that could have potentially affected the outcome
- Violation of your rights at some point during the disciplinary process
Finding the right grounds for appeal isn't your only challenge. You must, for instance, file your appeal within 20 days of the hearing. That doesn't give you a lot of time to uncover new evidence or draft your appeal documents. In addition, appeals don't involve hearings. You won't get the opportunity to address the Appeal Panel. You won't have a chance to examine or cross-examine witnesses. The panel – which is made up of three students and two faculty – meets behind closed doors to consider your arguments. Your entire case must be made in a single written document.
Again, this does not mean that you shouldn't file an appeal. It is possible to overturn the original Hearing Panel's decisions. You do need to understand, though, that you are down to your last options. Your appeal must be absolutely as good as you can make it. You need compelling arguments and strong evidence, and everything must be clear.
At the Lento Law Firm, we understand the situation. We know the stakes, but we also know what makes for a solid appeal. We've worked with hundreds of students, and we're well-versed in what Appeals Panels want to see in these documents. We'll work with you to draft your appeal and make sure that it puts you in the best possible light. The bottom line is that no one else will give you a better chance to win your case than the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm.
One Final Option: Negotiation
Even if you should lose your appeal, you do still have one more option worth trying: direct negotiation with Stanford. It's not easy convincing a university to negotiate. You have to be able to convince administrators that it's in their best interest to do so. If you work with a Lento Law Firm attorney, though, you have one advantage other students don't: our background and experience in educational law.
We work regularly with the Office of the General Council at colleges and universities across the country. Schools must deal with lots of legal issues, and they retain such officers to provide outside, objective advice on how they should handle these issues. Because we've developed relationships with these individuals, we have a sense of what motivates schools to make the decisions they make. That gives us an advantage in drafting appeals. It gives us another benefit as well, though. We can also sometimes leverage these relationships to convince schools like Stanford to negotiate fair settlements. Negotiation could, for example, allow you to remain at Stanford. Or it could allow you to transfer to another school without penalty.
Fight For Your Future
We started this guide by promising to be honest with you, and we'll end the same way. We cannot guarantee you that we'll win your case. At this point, you are in a difficult situation with limited options. Here's what we can promise you, though. No one gives you a better chance of winning than the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
Don't wait, though. Again, Stanford gives you just twenty days to file your appeal. Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
