Only you know why you chose to defend yourself alone during your University of Tennessee-Knoxville investigation and hearing. UT-Knoxville gives accused students the right to an advisor, who may be an attorney. Maybe you assumed the process would be simple and any sanctions would be minor. Maybe you were worried that mounting a full defense would mean getting your parents involved.
Whatever the reason, don't make the same mistake twice. An appeal is your last opportunity to salvage your academic career. Make sure you have the right help on your side.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights. We've worked with hundreds of students over the years, defending them from all types of charges. We know UT-Knoxville's rules and regulations, and we're familiar with the university's judicial procedures. No matter what your situation, we'll use every resource at our disposal to ensure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
It's important you contact us quickly, though. Once your hearing is over, you have just five business days to file your appeal. That's not a lot of time to build your case. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
UT-Knoxville Appeals
From an administrative standpoint, there's not a lot involved in filing an appeal at UT-Knoxville. You write up your grounds for appeal, you provide evidence to back those grounds, you submit your appeal before the deadline, and you wait for a decision.
An appeal is very different from investigations and hearings, though. Everything about your situation has changed at this point. You need brand-new arguments, and you need brand-new evidence. And what even are "grounds"?
Here's what you need to know before you undertake the process.
- At the risk of stating the obvious, you're now guilty of an offense at UT-Knoxville. That changes everything. You were "innocent until proven guilty," for instance. That meant the school had the burden of providing a "preponderance of evidence" proving your guilt. While you may disagree with the hearing outcome, the fact is that you've now been found responsible, and it can be difficult to overcome the presumption of guilt.
- In fact, the burden in the case now rests on you. You're accusing the university of mistreating you in some way. The university now has the presumption of innocence, and you must now meet the preponderance of evidence standard in order to overcome that presumption.
- “Mistreatment” doesn't mean the Student Conduct Board got the verdict wrong. Mistreatment when it comes to appeals means something specific interfered with your ability to present your defense. There are only four possibilities.
- The sanction imposed in the case is clearly unreasonable.
- A procedural error occurred significantly enough to have altered the outcome of the hearing.
- New information has come to light that could have a bearing on the outcome of the case.
- One or more officials were unfairly biased against you going into the case.
- The Appellate Board in the case does not hold hearings. Their decision is based solely on the content of your written appeal itself. That means it's especially important that your appeal be well-argued and well-supported with evidence. You will not have a chance to explain things in person.
- “Evidence” in an appeal is not proof of your innocence; it's proof of your mistreatment. Usually, only evidence drawn from the record of your hearing is allowed. If you have new evidence of your innocence, you may submit that, but only to demonstrate that you deserve a new hearing.
- The Appellate Board has only three options open to it. It can affirm the SCB's decision, it can lessen your sanction, or it can order a new hearing. In no circumstance can an appeal alone result in a "not responsible" outcome.
What is the Lento Law Firm attorney's role in this process? As soon as you contact them, they'll sit down with you and go over the record of your hearing. If there are grounds for an appeal, you can be sure they'll find them. They'll also draft the appeal itself and make sure it's submitted on time. And, of course, they'll monitor everything that happens to ensure you're treated fairly.
The Stakes in This Fight
We get it: you're exhausted after enduring an investigation, maybe over several months. You're emotionally drained from the hearing. After losing your case, you don't trust the system. There are important reasons to continue the fight, though.
First, there is an enormous amount at stake. If you've been dismissed, that means the end of your time at UT-Knoxville, the end of your academic progress, and the end of all the friendships you've worked so hard to build. It probably also means searching for jobs without a university degree. Your transcript will now carry a record of your offense, and you can't simply transfer to another school with that kind of record.
If you've been suspended, your position is marginally better. You can return to the university and complete your degree. You may have to do that without financial aid, though. Often, misconduct offenses jeopardize such aid. Plus, if you should manage to graduate, you'll still have that transcript notation to contend with, and that won't make the job hunt easy.
There's another reason to keep fighting, though: you can win. The appeals process seems like a daunting prospect, and it is. You have to remember, though, that appeals are meant to correct mistakes. Universities make lots of mistakes when it comes to dispensing justice. Faculty, administrators, and students are smart, but they're not trained in legal procedures. They don't know when to allow evidence in and when to keep it out. They frequently let their prejudices sway their judgment. When they make mistakes, you have the right to demand another chance to prove your innocence.
One Last Opportunity
There is one last option open to you should you lose your appeal, one only the Lento Law Firm can provide.
All colleges and universities maintain an Office of General Counsel (OGC), lawyers whose job it is to offer the school legal advice. They ensure the school's judicial system works fairly, they sit in on serious cases, and they sometimes offer recommendations about how the school should treat a particular respondent.
The Lento Law Firm has relationships with OGC around the country. We use these relationships to help us provide solutions for our clients. We can also sometimes take advantage of these relationships to get you an additional hearing with your school's administration. In the past, we've managed to convince university presidents to reduce sanctions, remove notations from transcripts, and even suspend sentences.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help?
Whether you're entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. We're here and ready to help. We'll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure you put forward your very strongest arguments, and guarantee the university respects your rights.
As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. There are deadlines for filing your appeal. Get started now. Contact the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
