You didn't hire an attorney when you were charged with a disciplinary misconduct offense at the University of Miami. You went through the investigation and the hearing all on your own. Maybe you didn't want your parents to know what was happening, or maybe when the university told you you weren't allowed to bring an attorney with you to hearings, you thought that meant you couldn't consult with an attorney at all.
Unfortunately, you lost your hearing. Now you're facing a serious sanction—suspension, maybe, or dismissal—and you've realized that the situation is more serious than you realized.
The good news is you've found your way here. The Lento Law Firm is the premier firm in the country when it comes to protecting student rights. Our Student Defense Team is well-versed in education law. We also know how the judicial system at the University of Miami works, including how to file appeals. You face an uphill battle at this point, but no firm gives you a better chance of salvaging your academic career than the Lento Law Firm.
It's important you act now, though. The university gives you just three days from the end of your hearing to file your appeal. Call today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your case.
The Appeals Process at the University of Miami
If you're still trying to decide whether or not it's worth your time and energy to file an appeal, let us simplify things for you: you have nothing to lose by continuing the fight and everything to gain.
If you've found your way to this page, it likely means you're facing a serious sanction. If you've been dismissed, of course, it means the end of your enrollment at UM. You'll also have to deal with a transcript notation that describes the exact nature of your offense. You may find it difficult, if not impossible, to get another school to accept you. If you're facing suspension, you can return to the university at some point and hopefully finish your degree. Suspensions appear on your transcript, too, though, and that will almost certainly hurt your job prospects out of school.
You need to be realistic about your chances, though, at this point. An appeal is not the same as a hearing. You're not allowed to complain about the verdict in your case, no matter how frustrated you may be about the outcome. This isn't an opportunity to re-try your case either, though winning your appeal might give you that opportunity.
Here's what you can expect.
- First, you're not presenting arguments in support of your innocence or explaining the reasons for the actions you took. You're presenting reasons why you feel like you were treated unfairly by the hearing process itself. Those reasons are referred to as "grounds," and UM only accepts two grounds for appeal:
- A procedural error occurred either during the investigation or hearing;
- The sanction you've been assigned is obviously disproportionate to the nature of your offense.
- You no longer have the presumption of Not Responsible (innocent). The opposite is true, in fact: you've been found Responsible, and until you prove otherwise, the university will assume that finding is accurate.
- UM gives you the right to make your appeal in person before the three-member Appellate Board. However, you are not allowed to present new evidence unless it was unavailable at the time of your original hearing. Your case must be built on evidence from the investigation and hearing.
- Except in extraordinary circumstances, the Appellate Board cannot overturn the outcome of your hearing. It can reduce or increase the sanction, or it can order a new hearing. Of course, a new hearing would give you another chance to make your full case.
- The findings of the Appellate Board are final. There is no further way to appeal your case.
Again, none of this information is meant to suggest that you should give up your fight. There's too much on the line to give up now. It's also true that students can and do win appeals. The thing is, campus justice can be a messy process. Students and faculty decide in most cases. Rules are informal. Mistakes get made. The reason UM has an appeals process in place is to correct those mistakes. But that can only happen if you take advantage of this option.
You should also know that, as with hearings, UM doesn't allow you to bring an attorney with you to appeals proceedings. At this point, though, hopefully, you realize that your Lento Law Firm attorney can do far more for you than simply sit beside you while the Board asks you questions.
- We'll work quickly, as soon as you contact us, to review the record of your case and suggest the best grounds for your appeal.
- We'll help you identify any mistakes in your case that could be used as evidence to support your appeal.
- We'll draft a strong appeal that lays out your arguments in a clear, compelling way and presents you in the very best light.
- We'll keep track of what happens during your appeal and make sure UM respects your rights.
Fight For Your Future
We won't sugarcoat it: you're in a difficult situation with limited options. You've already been found "Responsible" for an offense, and you don't have a lot of rights left to help you overturn that verdict. Given those parameters, we can't promise to win your appeal. No one can. 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 the University of Miami is just three 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.
