Approaching the 12-hour mark of a student conduct hearing at a major university I am reminded of lyrics from a Maroon Five song (“cross my heart and hope to die” from “One More Night”) as I…
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College students facing both criminal prosecution and university prosecution may feel that they are victims of double-jeopardy because they are prosecuted twice for the same offense. And the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution indeed forbids any…
Students facing conduct and academic honor code violations lack the most basic tool by which to defend themselves: subpoena power. [1] One of the worst aspects of the student defense system is that the accused lacks…
“It Isn’t mine.” Uttering this phrase to the police when they have found you in close proximity to anything: drugs, alcohol, or violence – only shows you don’t understand the legal principle of constructive possession. Constructive…
When it comes to academic honor code violations, colleges and universities must be fans of the legendary frontier jurist – Judge Roy Bean [1] – who supposedly told a defendant: “You’ll get a fair trial followed…
So justice is easy but truth is hard. [1] It’s hard to tell what’s true. The boy/girl who says you’re the one. The missing cookie from the jar. The bloody knife by the body. But it’s…
Your university and college don’t want you to hire a lawyer. Many student discipline codes and student conduct codes forbid lawyers from speaking at a student conduct proceeding. Other universities and colleges even forbid the accused…
On a Halloween twenty years ago, the actor River Phoenix died outside Johnny Depp’s The Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles, convulsing on the sidewalk from an overdose of drugs. As recounted in a recent biography, he…
“Sally Kram, a spokeswoman for the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, said the group is working to come up with a plan on how police would handle student conduct issues off campus. She said…
Rebecca Ann Sedwick died on September 8, 2013. [1] She went to an abandoned cement plant and jumped from a tower. It was a Monday morning. A school day. She was twelve. She was bullied online…
I chose my college (Vassar) in part for the lack of Greek life. My daughter factored in that too in her college choice (Smith). But a cellphone video of the 2013 Smith College Convocation filled with…
You can solve most problems – and even avoid them in the first place – and this includes student conduct violations. The key to defending a student or diffusing a discipline code violation is clarity. Clarity of…
Irresponsible drinking might be summed up as the philosophy of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” [1] Responsible drinking – a much repeated phrase on campuses by students and universities alike – might be summed up…
The other night my 18-year old woke up crying from a nightmare. Don’t get me wrong – she’s a tough enough kid – a competitive full-contact martial arts fighter since she was twelve. But she’s starting…
To paraphrase the French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre: First, we show up. Then we figure out what to do.[1] Mentors help you do that. But more importantly, the act of seeking them makes us smarter about ourselves. Seeking…
