A Responsible finding for a disciplinary misconduct charge at the University of California, Davis, is a big deal. They may call the verdict “Responsible,” but it means “guilty,” and it carries a lot of weight, enough to affect the rest of your academic and professional lives.
Obviously, if you've been sanctioned with dismissal, your time at UC Davis is over. But that's not the end of the story. With a dismissal on your transcript, you're not going to be able to just transfer to another university. You'll almost certainly be heading out onto the job market without a degree at all. And even if your sanction is something less than dismissal—suspension, for instance, or probation—it can have long-term repercussions on your ability to establish your career.
Those consequences are serious enough that you just can't mess around with your appeal. It may be that you tried to handle the investigation and hearing phases of your case on your own. Or maybe you hired an attorney who turned out to be unfamiliar with campus judicial procedures. This is your very last chance, though. You need someone from the Lento Law Firm.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team protects students from all types of disciplinary charges. They know the law, and they know how the U.C. Davis judicial system works. They're dedicated to protecting student rights, and they've helped hundreds of students get themselves back on track and earn their degrees.
What can they do to help you? Call 888-535-3686 to find out. Or use the online questionnaire right now to describe your case. Don't wait, though. U.C. Davis gives you just ten days from the conclusion of your hearing to file an appeal.
The Appeals Process at U.C. Davis
Whatever your situation, whatever you were charged with, whatever the penalty you've been given, an appeal is always a worthwhile decision. You've got nothing to lose by continuing to fight for your innocence, and if you've been sanctioned with suspension or dismissal, you have everything to gain. There are other factors working in your favor as well.
- You still have a number of important due process rights, such as the right to review all evidence in the case and the right to fair proceedings.
- Mistakes happen regularly in university judicial cases. Calculus professors and chemistry TAs may have vast qualifications in their fields, but their qualifications in jurisprudence are limited. That means it's often easy to identify a mistake that could warrant a new hearing or even a dismissal.
- You aren't taking on this appeal alone. You have the right to seek help from an attorney, and you've got the Lento Law Firm behind you.
Let's be clear, though: you're no longer facing an investigation and a hearing. You've been found guilty of an offense. Before, the burden was on the university to prove you were Responsible for (guilty of) misconduct. Now, the burden is squarely on you to prove that you deserve another chance to make your case.
What you're trying to prove is significant in another way as well. During the hearing you had several options open to you in terms of argument. In fact, you may have used several different arguments in an effort to win your case. Appeals aren't to determine guilt or innocence, though. They're about whether or not the system worked the way it was supposed to. In that context, there are only four possible arguments, or "grounds," for an appeal at U.C. Davis.
- The verdict in your case was not based on “sufficient” evidence.
- The sanction applied in your case is disproportionate to the nature of the offense.
- The process itself was inherently unfair in some way that could have altered the outcome of the case.
- New evidence has been discovered that was not available at the time of the hearing and that could potentially have affected the outcome.
Keep in mind as well that you aren't facing a panel of decision-makers now. One single individual, the Associate Vice Chancellor, is solely responsible for granting or denying your appeal. You won't have an opportunity to address this official personally. There's no hearing and no witness testimony. The Associate Vice Chancellor will examine only the record of the hearing and the contents of your written appeal.
So, while it's definitely worth continuing the fight, you don't want to be taking on U.C. Davis by yourself. You need the very best help you can find—not just an attorney, but an attorney who can use the system to your best advantage.
Your Lento Law Firm attorney will help you to review the record from your hearing and develop grounds for your appeal. They'll work with you to gather and organize evidence. And they'll draft an appeal that states your case clearly and puts you in the best possible light.
Fight for Your Future
Let's be clear: we cannot promise to win your case. The truth is, you should be suspicious of anyone who says they can make that promise. 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. 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. If you know you are innocent, if you believe you've been treated unfairly, we can help.
You cannot afford to wait, though. The window for filing your appeal at U.C. Davis 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.
