You know what it takes to become a doctor. A lot of that is still ahead of you—passing the MCATs, getting into medical school, making it through a residency, passing boards. You've already put in a lot of work, though. You study hard. You're in class every day.
If you've found yourself accused of some type of misconduct, all of that is in jeopardy. It doesn't matter if the whole thing is a simple misunderstanding. It doesn't matter if you are the victim of a false allegation. It also doesn't matter how minor the offense is and how minimal the penalty is. If you're found Responsible for (guilty of) an offense, and it gets into your record, it can destroy your med school applications.
Protect yourself. Make sure you know the rules at Rice. Make sure you know how the disciplinary process works in case you should ever need to defend yourself. And make sure you know how to get help. A misconduct charge is never an easy proposition, but you have more on the line than most. You need someone from the Lento Law Firm on your side. The firm's Student Defense Team knows how Rice processes and procedures work. We're on your side, and we'll do whatever is necessary to protect your rights and get you the best possible resolution to your case.
To find out more, call 888-535-3686 or take a few minutes right now and use our online form to tell us more about your case.
Misconduct at Rice
Let's start simple: what are the rules at Rice University? What is it that can get you into trouble?
It turns out there are a lot of them. It can be hard trying to keep them all straight. For the most part, though, they can be grouped into three simple categories. Know those, and you can avoid most kinds of trouble.
- Academic Misconduct: All schools take a dim view of academic dishonesty. Rice is no exception. Cheating, plagiarism, and any other action that could give you an unfair advantage in completing your coursework are explicitly forbidden, and you can face serious penalties. Your bigger concern, though, should be what happens if an academic misconduct finding should wind up on your transcript.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Just as important as your coursework and your academic honesty is your general behavior. Rice has an extensive Code of Student Conduct that covers things like alcohol consumption, drug usage, weapons possession, trespassing, hazing, and theft. Just as with academic misconduct, one violation can be enough to keep you out of medical school.
- Sexual Misconduct: This is perhaps the most serious form of misconduct any student can commit. There's almost no chance of getting into medical school with a sexual misconduct violation on your record. In addition, though, the most common punishment in these cases is outright dismissal.
It doesn't matter what you've been charged with. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm have helped hundreds of students deal with every imaginable type of problem. We're on your side, and we have the background and experience to protect you.
Misconduct Procedures
Rice cannot simply decide you committed an offense and assign a sanction. You are entitled to due process. You have the right to an investigation, the right to a hearing, and several other important rights, such as the right to a presumption of innocence until you are proven "Responsible" (guilty)
Here's how the process typically works.
- Complaints can arise in a variety of ways. Academic misconduct allegations, for instance, often originate with faculty. On the other hand, Title IX sexual misconduct is reported to the university's Title IX Coordinator.
- No matter who has jurisdiction over your case, you should expect an investigation to determine whether the charges have any merit.
- If the university decides to proceed with charges after the investigation, you'll receive an official Notice of the Charges. This Notice should contain a detailed description of the allegations and a list of all your due process rights.
- The investigation may continue after you've been issued a Notice. Certainly, as part of the process, you'll be allowed to offer a statement giving your side of the story.
- Following the investigation, you'll have an opportunity to defend yourself at a full hearing. You can make opening and closing statements, submit evidence, and call witnesses to testify. In addition, you may cross-examine witnesses against you.
- Rice University cases are decided using a legal standard known as “preponderance of the evidence.” According to this standard, decision-makers must find you Responsible (guilty) if they are more than fifty percent convinced you committed an offense.
- Even after the hearing, you have an important right: the right to appeal the outcome and/ or to appeal the sanction that has been imposed. However, you must “grounds” for an appeal. This can include the discovery of new evidence, a procedural error, or a penalty that is clearly disproportionate to the nature of the offense.
If you've been charged with Title IX sexual misconduct, federal law gives you the right to bring an attorney with you to meetings and procedures, though they can only speak to you, not for you. If you're accused of any other sort of misconduct at Rice, attorneys are barred from all proceedings.
Keep in mind, though, that your Lento Law Firm attorney isn't here to represent you. In fact, in no case at Rice can they do that. What they can do is help you build your defense strategy, work with you to collect and organize evidence, draft documents, come up with questions for witnesses. Most importantly, their job is to keep you safe, to make sure Rice doesn't violate your rights and that you're treated fairly from start to finish.
Fighting for Your Future
Fighting a misconduct charge is never an easy proposition for anyone. As a pre-med student, though, you face special challenges. Beyond the complexities of the Rice University judicial system, you have to worry about whether sanctions are recorded in your record. You have to worry about who might find out about the allegations and whether those allegations might interfere with recommendation letters, even if they're proven false. You have to keep a close watch on social media and make sure your reputation doesn't suffer online. It's an enormous amount of work to have to deal with on your own.
That's why it's vital that you contact the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team the minute you suspect you might be in trouble. We can negotiate with faculty and administrators if that's what's called for, but we can also be fierce in defending our clients.
Let us help you fight for your academic future. To find out more, contact the firm today at 888-535-3686. Or, fill out our online questionnaire.
