In most misconduct cases, the University of Hawaii, Manoa prohibits you from bringing an attorney with you to meetings and proceedings. You can select an someone to help you from the campus community, but they cannot be a lawyer. The implication of this policy is that the university doesn’t want you to have access to legal advice. That’s to the school’s advantage.
The fact is, though, that no one can prevent you from consulting with an attorney from the LLF National Law Firm. And even if we cannot sit beside you as you present your side of the case, we can play a crucial role in crafting your defense. We can help you to develop your arguments, work with you to uncover evidence, suggest questions for witnesses, draft documents, and even coach you on how to make your presentation. We can do all that even if we’re not allowed to step one foot on campus.
The good news is that while you chose not to hire an attorney during the original investigation, you’re here now. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is knowledgeable about and experienced with all phases of the campus judicial process, including filing appeals. We’ve helped hundreds of students salvage their academic careers, and we’re prepared to fight to make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
It’s important you contact us now, though. UH Manoa gives you just ten calendar days from the end of your hearing to file your appeal. That’s not a lot of time to build your defense. Call today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
What’s at Stake
Lots of students choose to give up and walk away once they’ve been found responsible for an offense. Even if they’ve been suspended or dismissed, at this point, they’re tired. We get it. An investigation can take a lot out of you, especially if you’ve been trying to keep up with your studies while it was happening. It’s important you keep fighting, though.
Why?
To start with, you have nothing to lose at this point and everything to gain. If you’ve been dismissed, your studies at UH, Manoa, are over. By itself, that can be a tough event from which to recover, but dismissal isn’t just dismissal. You’ll also be issued a transcript notation. Every school you apply to will know the details of your offense, which likely means you’ll be heading out onto the job market without a degree.
Even if you’re only facing suspension, it’s not easy to recover from such a serious sanction. It can be hard coming back to school after you’ve been away. Plus, you too will have a transcript notation to contend with, and even if you manage to earn your degree, you’ll still have to explain your offense when you apply for jobs.
And while you have every reason to be frustrated with the UH Manoa judicial system at this point, you can win your appeal. As we talk about below, the point of an appeal is to address any mistakes made during the original hearing. When you’re dealing with campus justice, mistakes are common. Cases aren’t prosecuted by seasoned attorneys but rather by university administrators. Cases aren’t decided by learned judges but rather by faculty and students. Rules are lax; the standard of evidence is low. Most important of all, you didn’t have the LLF National Law Firm on your side. If there are grounds for appeal, you can count on us to find it.
The Appeals Process at the University of Hawaii, Manoa
We don’t want to sugarcoat your situation. You can overturn the hearing outcome in your case, but you face a number of tough challenges.
- First, you no longer have the presumption of innocence. Up to now, the university has treated you as “Not Responsible.” Importantly, that meant the burden of proof rested squarely on UH Manoa. Now, rightly or wrongly, you’ve been found Responsible. That means the burden has shifted. The presumption is that the university treated you fairly and got things right. You have the burden to prove otherwise.
- Next, in making your case, you have a limited number of arguments from which to choose. You aren’t allowed simply to argue that you’re innocent. You’ve already had that opportunity. Appeals are about whether or not you were treated fairly during the process. Thus, arguments must have to do with fairness. There are only three possibilities:
- You can argue that new evidence has come to light that wasn’t available before and that it could potentially change the hearing outcome.
- You can argue that the university failed to follow established judicial procedures and that this may have influenced the hearing outcome.
- You can argue that the hearing outcome was not based on sufficient evidence.
- Unless new evidence has been uncovered, your proof must all come from the record of the original hearing. You can call witnesses to testify, but again, your innocence is not in question, only whether or not the university acted properly in your case.
- Because your innocence is not at issue, an appeal does not determine whether you win or lose your case. “Winning” an appeal means you get another chance to defend yourself at a disciplinary hearing.
At this point, it should be clear enough to you why you need an attorney from the LLF National Law Firm at your side. Processes and procedures can be complicated. This is your last chance, and the consequences if your fail can be disastrous.
LLF National Law Firm attorneys are skilled at handling student defenses. We focus on student disciplinary cases. We work every day with university General Counsels—attorneys hired by the school to advise them on how to deal with judicial matters. As a result, we have unique insight into how UH Manoa’s justice system operates, and we’re uniquely qualified to help guide you through it.
Fight For Your Future
Of course, the LLF National 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. The appeals process at the UH Manoa exists for a reason, though. You deserve justice, and what the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can promise you is that they will fight hard to get you that justice. They’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. Ten days is not long to put together a strong appeal. Get started now. Contact the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.