So, you didn't hire an attorney to help you prepare for your investigation and hearing at UNC. We get it. The university actually does a fairly good job of convincing accused students that they don't need an attorney, and in any event, attorneys aren't allowed to accompany students to investigative meetings and proceedings.
As you probably recognize at this point, though, you're always better off going into a disciplinary misconduct case with a lawyer on your side. Lawyers do so much more than merely accompany you to proceedings. It's their job to map out your defense strategy and develop your arguments. They can work with you to gather evidence. They can help you develop questions for witnesses. They can even help you fine-tune your actual presentations.
Here's the good news: you've realized that the situation is serious enough to require the help of an attorney to file your appeal. Even better, you've found the Lento Law Firm. What's so special about us? Our Student Defense Team was founded to help students defend themselves from university charges. We know the law, and we know how UNC judicial processes work. Most important of all, though, we are dedicated to making sure the university respects your rights and that you get a fair resolution to your case.
What can we do for you? Call today to find out. Dial 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your case.
High Stakes
The right to appeal the outcome of your disciplinary hearing is a valuable opportunity to continue to fight for your academic and professional futures. Not every student takes advantage of this right, though. Investigations and hearings are exhausting, and when you've been found Responsible for an offense, it's easy to become frustrated and decide an appeal just isn't worth the hassle.
Here's the thing, though: you have nothing to lose by filing an appeal and everything to gain. If you've been dismissed from UNC, you know the stakes. Leaving the university means giving up all your progress to this point. Worse, it could very well mean that you have to head out onto the job market without a degree at all. You'll find it hard to get another school to accept you with a dismissal on your transcript. In fact, all serious offenses, including probation and suspension, are noted on UNC transcripts, so even if you're just facing suspension and you do eventually manage to graduate, you'll have some tough questions to answer when you go into job interviews.
The other thing to remember is that students can and do win appeals. Universities make mistakes. They find innocent students Responsible for violations. They assign sanctions that are simply too severe for the nature of the offense. After all, other students decided your case. The fact that mistakes do happen is the very reason why UNC has an appeals process.
Plus, you have an advantage not every student has: you have the Lento Law Firm attorney helping you prepare your appeal.
Grounds for Appeal
An appeal is not a hearing. The hearing was your chance to argue for your innocence or to offer explanations for your behavior. You don't get another chance to do that unless you manage to win your appeal.
An appeal is a safety mechanism, a check on the system to help UNC ensure that students are being treated fairly and that justice is being done. As a result, you're not allowed to just make any sort of argument. Your argument needs to relate to fairness. In fact, appeals arguments aren't even called “arguments.” You offer “grounds” for your appeal, a basis for considering whether or not the university should allow you a second chance to present your case. At UNC, there are only three possible grounds from which to choose.
- You were treated unfairly by the process in some way.
- You're facing an unfair sanction, a punishment that doesn't fit the nature of your offense.
- The hearing outcome is not supported by the evidence in the case.
That's not a lot of options. Your first job as the Lento Law Firm attorney is to sit down with you and go over the original case. If there are any grounds for appeal, you can count on your attorney to find them.
The Appeals Process at the University Of North Carolina
There are a number of other ways in which appeals differ from hearings. It's important to consider these as you prepare for this new phase of your case.
- One of your most essential rights when the case began was the right to a presumption of "Not Responsible" (innocent). However, the hearing determined—rightly or wrongly—that you are Responsible. This means that the burden is now on you to prove the school owes you a second chance.
- You don't get the chance to argue an appeal in person. Unlike the hearing, you don't get to introduce evidence, you don't get to call witnesses, and you don't get to address the appeals panel. Your entire case rests on a single written document.
- In addition, the evidence in an appeal is significantly different from the evidence in the hearing. Before, you were trying to prove your innocence. Now, you're trying to prove that the university made a mistake. The only allowable evidence is the record of the hearing.
- Before a hearing panel will consider your appeal, you must convince an appeals official that your case has merit—that you have reasonable grounds for your appeal and that you have evidence to support your contention.
- The appellate panel cannot overturn your verdict. It is not the job of this panel to decide issues of guilt and innocence. If the panel decides to accept your appeal, they will either lower the severity of the sanction or order a new hearing.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help?
When it comes to your appeal, what exactly can you expect from the Lento Law Firm attorney?
- Your attorney will go over the case records with a fine tooth comb looking for grounds for your appeal.
- Your attorney will organize evidence.
- Your attorney will draft your appeal, taking care to offer only the strongest possible arguments and to make those arguments in clear, plain language.
- Your attorney will constantly be on the lookout for any abuse of your due process 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 UNC is just thirty 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.
