An appeal is your last chance to avoid a serious sanction at Wayne State University. From the moment you were charged, you were entitled to due process, including a number of significant rights. At this point, though, you've exhausted most of those rights. The appeal is all you have left.
An appeal is a legitimate chance to gain a new hearing in your case, and if you can do that, there's every possibility you can gain a new outcome. Appeals can be tricky, though. With so much on the line, you don't want to risk your future by trying to handle the case on your own.
You don't have to. Wayne State affords all accused students (respondents) the right to an advisor of their choice. Make the right choice. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights, and no one in the country gives you a better chance at success. We know Wayne State's processes and procedures, including what's involved in appeals.
We can help you challenge your responsible (guilty) outcome, but you must act quickly. Wayne State gives you just twenty days to file your appeal. That's not a lot of time, and there's a lot of work to get done. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
Filing an Appeal at Wayne State University
From a practical standpoint, a Wayne State appeal is a fairly straightforward procedure. You submit a written document outlining your arguments and supporting those arguments with evidence. Then you wait. That's it.
However, a successful appeal requires a radical shift in your thinking. Not every student can make that shift.
- Your first challenge is to accept that you've been found responsible for an offense. Most students' impulse after they lose a hearing is to argue their innocence even more strongly than before. That's a mistake.
- Instead of arguing your innocence, you now need to address how you were treated by the disciplinary process. Appeals aren't about innocence; they're about whether or not the system worked the way it's supposed to. There are only a handful of grounds—arguments—that Wayne State will consider.
- You can argue that the university committed some type of procedural error that interfered with your right to a fair hearing.
- You can argue that new evidence discovered since the hearing deserves to be heard.
- You can argue that a member of the university's Hearing Committee had a conflict of interest that prevented them from rendering a fair judgment.
- You can argue that the hearing outcome was not based on a preponderance of evidence, as university policy requires.
- You can argue that the sanction in the case is disproportionate to the nature of the offense.
- The burden in the case has shifted as well. The accused always has the presumption of innocence (“not responsible”). You had that presumption when your case began. Now, however, you're leveling an allegation at the university, accusing it of denying you a fair chance to defend yourself. Wayne State has the presumption of innocence, and it's up to you to provide a preponderance of evidence proving you were mistreated.
- Your original hearing was decided by an entire committee. Appeals are decided by a single administrative official, the President of the university.
- There are no hearings in appeals cases. Your entire case must be contained in the written appeal itself, and you will not have a chance to explain anything that's confusing or unclear.
- You must rely on the record of the original hearing for evidence. The only exception is if you have uncovered new evidence since the hearing. Even in this case, though, you don't use that evidence to prove your innocence but rather to argue that you deserve a new hearing.
- Wayne State's President can overturn the hearing outcome, but that is rare. If the President accepts your grounds for appeal, they'll usually order a brand-new hearing.
What is the Lento Law Firm attorney's responsibilities during this process? First and foremost, they'll make sure you're clear on exactly what's involved in an appeal. In addition, they'll work with you to identify any possible grounds for appeal. They'll draft the appeal itself, and they'll make sure it gets filed properly and on time.
The Stakes
As this outline of the appeals process suggests, you're at a disadvantage at this point in the case. Appeals are typically treated as an afterthought. The primary work of the disciplinary process is already done, and an appeal is simply one last opportunity to ensure the university got things right.
That does not mean you should give up and walk away.
The truth is, you can't afford to do that. If you're facing a serious sanction like suspension or dismissal, you're facing the end of your academic career. Dismissal means permanent separation from Wayne State. It probably means other schools aren't going to accept you either. You have a disciplinary misconduct offense on your record. Suspension offers the possibility that you could still graduate. Few students actually do, though. It's never easy returning to school following a long break, especially if you've been working a job in the interim. You may have lost your financial aid as a result of your offense. And even if you should earn your degree, your transcript will forever carry a record of your offense. That can make the job search especially difficult.
There's another reason to keep fighting as well. You can win. Your case wasn't prosecuted by a seasoned state's attorney with a law degree. It wasn't heard by a learned judge with years of experience on the bench. It was decided by faculty, students, and administrators with minimal training in legal procedure. In those circumstances, it would be surprising if mistakes didn't happen. If you were denied any of your due process rights, you deserve a second chance to build your case. The Lento Law Firm wants to make sure you get it.
Using the OGC
All colleges and universities maintain an Office of General Counsel. This OGC is made up of lawyers who provide the school with advice on legal matters. OGC help schools design disciplinary procedures. They sometimes sit in on sensitive cases. Their opinion carries enormous weight with university administrators.
Because we work so extensively in the area of student defense, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team has developed a number of relationships with OGC around the country. We lean on these relationships to protect our clients. OGC keep us informed about how administrative processes work, and they offer advice on what makes for the strongest arguments in disciplinary misconduct cases.
We have also been able to rely on these relationships in the past to negotiate settlements for our clients outside normal disciplinary processes. Even if you've lost your appeal, it may be possible to convince your university's administration to reconsider your case.
This isn't the kind of service a local attorney can offer, though. The Lento Law Firm is uniquely positioned to help students defend themselves.
You're Not Alone in This Fight
Whether you're entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from Wayne State University, 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.
