If you've been found “Responsible” for a disciplinary misconduct offense at the University of Denver and you're looking to appeal your case, you've come to the right place.
An appeal is a delicate process, and you don't want to try and handle it on your own. You need the best help you can get. That means an attorney from the Lento Law Firm. The Lento Law Firm is the premier firm in the country when it comes to student defense. Our Student Defense Team has represented hundreds of students, defending them from all types of charges. We know the University of Denver judicial process, including how appeals work. We'll protect your rights and make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
You cannot wait to contact us, though. The University of Denver gives you just five business days from the end of your hearing 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 University of Denver
You may be tempted to file your own appeal at the University of Denver. You may already have tried to handle the investigation and hearing yourself. And an appeal does seem like a pretty simple process. You write up why you think the university got your case all wrong and submit your argument. Right?
Actually, no. An appeal is a very specific type of legal process. It is not a hearing, and if you try to treat it like a hearing, your case will be over before it begins.
- From the moment you were charged, you were given the benefit of the doubt, the “presumption of innocence.” It's a principle of American justice that accused persons must be "proven" guilty. We make no assumptions, and the University of Denver policy reflects this principle. You were investigated. You were allowed to defend yourself at a hearing. And the university bore the burden of providing definitive proof of your offense. On paper, at least, they did that. You are now guilty in the eyes of the university. An appeal is one last chance to double-check the system and make sure you were treated fairly. To be clear, you are guilty. An appeal won't, on its own, change that. But you can accuse the school of having mistreated you in some way. Of course, just like you, the school, as the accused, is presumed innocent. You now bear the burden of definitively proving they acted inappropriately. That's definitely a tougher position to be in.
- You are not—not—simply arguing that the University of Denver got things wrong. In fact, the issue of your innocence isn't even at stake, and if you try to argue that you are innocent and decision-makers got it all wrong, you can be certain to lose your appeal. You are arguing that you were treated unfairly in some way by the process. In this context, there are only four possible arguments:
- Some procedural error occurred significant enough to have denied you the right to a fair hearing.
- Some new evidence has arisen that wasn't available at the time of the hearing, and that could have an impact on the hearing outcome.
- Some members of your Case Resolution Body had a bias or conflict of interest that made them incapable of fairly judging your case.
- Your sanction is grossly disproportionate to the actual nature of your offense.
- Your case was handled by a “Case Resolution Body” before. Decisions were made based on majority opinion. An appeal is only a check on the system, though. This time, you'll be subject to the decision of a single Appellate Officer.
- You cannot communicate directly with this Appellate Officer. You will not have an opportunity to make your arguments in person, to offer physical evidence, or to call witnesses to testify. Your entire case must be contained in a written document.
- You are not presenting evidence of your innocence. You are presenting evidence that you were mistreated in some way. This means that unless you've discovered some new evidence, your "proof" must come entirely from the record of the original hearing.
- Finally, the Appellate Officer cannot find you "innocent." Again, your innocence is not in question in an appeal. The Appellate Officer has three options. They can reaffirm the original hearing decision; they can reduce the terms of your sanction, or they can order a new hearing, a new chance to argue your innocence.
In short, putting together your appeal can be an incredibly complex process. It requires the ability to comb through the hearing record, looking for very specific, often subtle, evidence that the school made a mistake. It involves the ability to read through the university's own procedural manuals to determine just what it may have done wrong. It involves the ability to craft sophisticated arguments and to present them in writing, clearly.
It's never a good idea to try and undertake an appeal on your own. If there's a mistake in the hearing record, you can count on the Lento Law Firm attorney to find it. You can also count on them to develop the most persuasive arguments and to draft a compelling written document. They're knowledgeable, they're experienced, and they understand the stakes.
What's at Stake
Just what are those stakes? Obviously, an appeal is your last option. The Appellate Officer's decision in your case is final. At that point, the sanction you've been assigned goes into effect immediately.
If the University of Denver is trying to suspend or dismiss you, that's a serious threat to your entire future. Sound like an exaggeration? Keep in mind that these sanctions come with a transcript notation describing your offense. That will make it difficult, if not impossible, to get another college or university to admit you. And even if you should return and finish your degree at the University of Denver, that notation is powerful enough to cost you job opportunities.
You can win your appeal and a new hearing. Students do so all the time. University judicial systems are prone to mistakes, and you can understand why. Faculty and students run these systems, and none of them have any legal training. They make decisions that may seem right at the moment, but that may very well have cost you a shot at a fair outcome.
You need help, though. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm will guide you through the entire process. They'll make sure the university respects your rights, they'll make sure you offer up the strongest possible arguments, and they'll make sure justice is done in your case.
Fight For Your Future
Of course, the Lento Law Firm cannot guarantee to win your appeal. No one can do that. At this point, you've exhausted a number of your most important rights. You deserve justice, though, and what the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can promise you is that we will fight hard to get you that justice. we're here 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. Five 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.
