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Student misconduct in the confines of a school community is different from committing an offense elsewhere. Depending on where the offense occurs, such as on or off-campus, and how a university gets information about an alleged offense, education institutions will take independent administrative action. This could result in everything up to expulsion from school, and they do it completely separate from criminal court and often much faster.

Also, accused individuals do not have a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in an administrative setting at a university or higher education institution. Whatever they say in a university setting can and will be used against them in criminal courts. It can be very serious, depending on the type of allegations against them. It is important to have an experienced student defense attorney at the university level as well as in criminal court, especially for the more serious cases.

If you are a student facing student disciplinary action, speak to Jenn and Justie at Colorado Lawyer Team. A knowledgeable Greenwood Village campus misconduct lawyer could review the facts of the case and help you avoid or mitigate the consequences.

Keep Disciplinary Proceedings Internal

The university may choose to keep certain disciplinary proceedings internal for various reasons. It does not have an obligation to report anything outside of the campus to district attorneys. Isolated incidents and minor incidents probably can be dealt with better by the university than the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system has failed in rehabilitation. It focuses on punitive sanctions for the most part.

For the stuff that happens at the campus, the university is the best one to determine the severity of that action. The university will look at the following factors when deciding the disciplinary action:

  • Who is impacted by that action and the better consequences for the particular perpetrator?
  • Is it a class?
  • Is it a transcript hold?
  • Is it full academic suspension?
  • Is it a protection order?
  • A trespass notice?
  • Is it the loss of a scholarship?

Whatever the case may be, CSU has a lot more discretion in tailoring the consequences to the alleged offender and their conduct. In some severe cases, the university will involve law enforcement.

Legal Authorities Following an Accusation

At CSU, the campus police officers are post-certified police officers. They have all the authority that someone controlling the streets throughout Greenwood Village would have. There is not a jurisdictional difference between law enforcement on campus and law enforcement off-campus.

Many universities will try to keep the disciplinary matter contained. The thing about keeping it contained within the student conduct system does not actually exclude law enforcement. The university may not inform off-campus authorities about on-campus activity, but generally, off-campus authorities will inform the university of the bad behavior out in the community. Nothing prohibits open and complete communication between the university and the law enforcement authorities in the city, though.  Although CSU does not necessarily report to local law enforcement on everything, they can, and the district attorney can subpoena any of the records from the CSU hearing program.

A diligent Greenwood Village campus misconduct lawyer could ensure that a student’s rights are protected before, during, and after the disciplinary proceedings.

How a Student Defense Attorney Could Help

Following an accusation of misconduct, it is best to reach out a student defense attorney. Students are always allowed to seek legal representation in a Student Conduct hearing. Most universities do not have a Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. They can bring a support person that does not have to be an attorney. They have to look at the consequences of their conduct even if it is not direct or common when determining whether to bring an attorney on to the case.

It can never hurt a student facing a campus offense to contact an attorney. Justie and Jenn at Colorado Lawyer Team have the knowledge, skills, and tools to help you fight your case. Call today to learn about how a Greenwood Village campus misconduct lawyer could help your case.

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