Judicial Record - GPA 3.55 Undergrad / 3.92 Grad Forum

[MrKappus]

It often is hard to prove/win such cases, yes. However, that just means OP should be preparing all the more vigorously to defend himself as aggressively as possible. Which includes being ready to litigate.

We agree OP should vigorously defend himself (duh), including hiring an attorney. We disagree that he should sue. He'll lose.

[CanadianWolf]

You need an experienced lawyer with a good investigator. Also if the school hearing allows polygraphs into evidence & you are telling the truth, then consider taking a polygraph to support your version. Your attorney should initiate some pre-hearing discovery so that you are not surprised by any evidence, witnesses or claims at the hearing.
P.S. Do not contact the complainant on your own under any circumstances as that can bring additional "charges" or claims against you. Hire an experienced attorney.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Just because he may or may not win such a case, doesn't mean he shouldn't be preparing for a suit. As a said, universities are PR whores and just the threat will go a long way for the OP.

Also, you place way, way. way. too much faith in vetting schools do of their policies. Schools violate their students' rights frequently. The vetting that goes on is more post hoc rationalizing than honest compliance. And if you want to start talking about "agreements" your argument really breaks down: if you look at schools' student handbooks, codes of conduct, etc. they all promise strong protections of due process rights etc., which often strengthens, not weakens, a case, as when a university isn't even fulfilling its own promises. This is beyond the statutory, state const., and federal const. rights which may apply.

This isn't anything groundbreaking. Schools often violate their students rights and are often shot down hard in court.

So despite the fact that schools hate negative PR, they willfully keep their conduct codes in non-compliance with the case law, despite "often [getting] shot down hard in court," which inevitably leads to more cases and more negative PR. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

If a school code gets shot down in court, the court will order the school to change it. The school will do so, not only b/c to do otherwise would be contempt, but also because it hates bad PR so much. Other schools (who also, presumably, are "PR whores") will see this new case law and change their codes accordingly too. Schools don't just get to keep their practices and procedures in place after getting "shot down," TJ. THey have to change them. As a result, most school's internal judicial systems are in full compliance with fed/state con law requirements and the most current case law. Unless OP has a groundbreaking case, his school has the requisite evidence to hold a hearing for violation of a conduct code that had been vetted by attorneys, and OP will lose.

You're assuming college administrators act rationally. Also, just because a school changes the policy, doesn't mean the new one will be in compliance; administrators/faculty/student govt reps have agendas, many of which are not in the best interest of the school.

Do you have anything to cite to support your assertion that "most school's internal judicial systems are in full compliance with fed/state con law requirements and the most current case law" other than your conjecture? Because there's a long list of cases I can show you of schools violating their students' rights. You can start with --LinkRemoved--

[Thomas Jefferson]

It often is hard to prove/win such cases, yes. However, that just means OP should be preparing all the more vigorously to defend himself as aggressively as possible. Which includes being ready to litigate.

We agree OP should vigorously defend himself (duh), including hiring an attorney. We disagree that he should sue. He'll lose.

Why take the nuclear option off the table? The more cards he has ready to play, the greater his chance of disposing of this as best he can. (If it came off as I'm advocating that he should go sue right now, that's definitely not what I'm saying. I'm just saying he should be ready to, and if all else fails, he should; at that point, he'll have nothing left to lose (other than the suit), and he should have a plausible enough argument to at least try to get some sort of favorable disposition for himself. But again, OP, go see an attorney.)

[MrKappus]

Honestly, I get that you really think you know a lot about this from your PI paralegaling, and I get that you think I'm wrong. To be honest, you're contradicting yourself all over the place:

(1) School's hate bad PR, but willfully attract con lawsuits by maintaining unlawful policies;
(2) You don't know the specifics of OP's situation, but he should totally sue his school;
(3) OP's case is not groundbreaking, but his case might raise new questions of due process and other con law concerns; and
(4) maybe others if I had the time/inclination to back through and read your posts more carefully (?).

I think you probably also lost me a little when you disparaged OP's accuser, whom you don't know, and advised a legal strategy (suing the school) that is questionable at best, and downright reckless at worst. If OP's story's true, then I feel for him, and I think he'll be vindicated by an evidentiary hearing (which, mind you, has not happened yet, since there was no trial). But I also know that ppl use TLS and other websites as sounding boards for their own B.S. stories, so none of us can be 100% sure that OP's giving us the whole story. I'm sick of arguing w/ you, since you're just talking past me anyway. But you should read this case before you tell OP to sue again. It's from the list you gave me. http://thefire.org/case/8.html

[Thomas Jefferson]

Honestly, I get that you really think you know a lot about this from your PI paralegaling, and I get that you think I'm wrong. To be honest, you're contradicting yourself all over the place:

(1) School's hate bad PR, but willfully attract con lawsuits by maintaining unlawful policies;
(2) You don't know the specifics of OP's situation, but he should totally sue his school;
(3) OP's case is not groundbreaking, but his case might raise new questions of due process and other con law concerns; and
(4) maybe others if I had the time/inclination to back through and read your posts more carefully (?).

I think you probably also lost me a little when you disparaged OP's accuser, whom you don't know, and advised a legal strategy (suing the school) that is questionable at best, and downright reckless at worst. If OP's story's true, then I feel for him, and I think he'll be vindicated by an evidentiary hearing (which, mind you, has not happened yet, since there was no trial). But I also know that ppl use TLS and other websites as sounding boards for their own B.S. stories, so none of us can be 100% sure that OP's giving us the whole story. I'm sick of arguing w/ you, since you're just talking past me anyway. But you should read this case before you tell OP to sue again. It's from the list you gave me. http://thefire.org/case/8.html

Great straw man you attacked there.

1) When did I say anything about the school attracting law suits willfully?
2) Being ready too sue = hey OP go run to the courthouse right now?
3) Who said anything about "new questions"?
4) Profit?

Lol at 'me talking past you' when your arguments are all directed at straw men. I never said OP has a slam dunk case and that he should go file his claim right now. Rather, just that I don't know the specifics facts of OP's case, that schools often pull a lot of bull, and that, based on that limited information, OP should be ready to sue if it comes down to that.

I said such cases are often hard to win. But there are myriad things OP could have a claim under, from something like California's Leonard Law, to a const. claim at a public school. Obviously those things aren't present in every case. And as I've admitted, I don't know very much of OP's facts. So who is talking past whom here?

[Bildungsroman]

OP, nobody here is qualified to give you legal advice one way or the other, and it doesn't seem like that's what you're asking for. So, to answer your original question, if you get dismissed for this it will be a black mark on your record when applying to law schools and will work against you.

[careerchange2010]

Bildungsroman... that's what I assumed. Do you think its still possible to get admitted to a law school with a black mark like that? I recognize that it won't help my cause... but does a black mark like that would make admission impossible for me?

The really screwed up part of this is that I was studying higher ed admin... So basically the people who are doing this hearing are the people who I would have worked with... in other words my original career is most likely ruined by this false accusation.

[094320]

..

[careerchange2010]

After dealing with this situation for several months and spending thousands in legal fees, I was ultimately found "not responsible" for the alleged conduct violation! Things completely turned around and we're now getting ready to sue my accuser and the university.

I'm going to create a separate post for this, but I'm just curious what all of you think. I'm considering using this situation for a personal statement to T14 schools I am very unlikely to get into based on my academic credentials. I don't plan on using this statement for schools I am likely to get into. I'm looking at it as a hail mary approach. I want to write about the unique understanding and perspective I would bring to Law School as someone who was falsely accused of a 2nd degree felony.

Do you think this sounds like a good idea? If I only use the statement for schools I'm not likely to get into otherwise, I figure it can't hurt.

[canuck]

After dealing with this situation for several months and spending thousands in legal fees, I was ultimately found "not responsible" for the alleged conduct violation! Things completely turned around and we're now getting ready to sue my accuser and the university.

I'm going to create a separate post for this, but I'm just curious what all of you think. I'm considering using this situation for a personal statement to T14 schools I am very unlikely to get into based on my academic credentials. I don't plan on using this statement for schools I am likely to get into. I'm looking at it as a hail mary approach. I want to write about the unique understanding and perspective I would bring to Law School as someone who was falsely accused of a 2nd degree felony.

Do you think this sounds like a good idea? If I only use the statement for schools I'm not likely to get into otherwise, I figure it can't hurt.

I love this idea. Go big or go home.

[clintonius]

This right here:

P.S. I also realize that it was idiotic to be unfaithful to my wife and to put myself into this situation period. I never should have been in a situation where someone could accuse me of that.

is what should inform your decision on whether to use this story for your personal statement. I imagine adcomms will find the topic distasteful at best.