About Sherri Romano

Sherri A. Romano has dedicated her education and legal career to defending the criminally accused for over 19 years. In addition, she represents college students in university disciplinary hearings and is the author of the College Arrest 101 Blog.

College Arrest 101 Blog | College Students, Careers and Criminal Records

Juvenile and Adult criminal records will haunt college students when applying for a job or a professional license - perhaps forever.  See a more recent post here about mugshot websites. Therefore, the main goal should be to avoid leaving a criminal conviction on a student's record and also properly seal or expunge arrest records whenever possible. But, many times  a criminal record exists and must be dealt with when thinking realistically about a future career BEFORE attending a costly college program or obtaining a graduate degree in a field which the student may be barred from entering because of a [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:46:16+00:00June 30th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | College Arrest Statistics

College students can be arrested for anything, but probably the most likely crimes and arrests for college students are alcohol and drug related violations.  Every year across the county thousands of students move into university dorms and residents halls.  These residential colleges see the most of substance related arrests.  For example, at the University of Miami (statistics here) and Florida International University (statistics here) these alcohol and drug arrests are by far the most prevalent.  However, at a commuter college (where students don't reside on campus) such as Miami Dade College (statistics here) there are relatively few arrests for alcohol [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:47:31+00:00June 25th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Twitter May Lead to Suspension

Colleges and Universities, like the rest of the world, are dealing with the rapid rise of social media like Twitter and Facebook.   In many cases a college student's post on Facebook or tweet on Twitter may get them in hot water and result in university discipline and sometimes even suspension.  A number of these cases have been popping up in the news recently.  See here and here. We have even posted previously how a comment of Facebook can be criminal - when the President is involved. However, there is great debate about whether a student's social media rants are [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:49:42+00:00June 19th, 2012|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | DREAM Act and Immigrant College Students

Today President Obama announced that U.S. Immigration would halt deportation of young illegal immigrant students (under 30 years old) who were brought to the US before age 16.  Instead, they can remain in the United States and apply for a work permit.  You can read the about the announcement here. This is the first step toward the Dream Act, immigration reform legislation which is currently pending that would give relief to the many illegal immigrant students who were brought to this country by their parents at a young age but have no way to gain legal status. Both these immigration [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:51:16+00:00June 15th, 2012|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
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College Arrest Blog 101 | Notification of Parents in Student Discipline Cases

Dear Parent, Your child has been charged by this University with violating the disciplinary code . . . Depending on the nature of the disciplinary violation and the age of the college student, the school may legally notify the parents of a pending disciplinary violation. The disclosure of these disciplinary records is governed by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). This Federal Statute states that the parents of children in grades K-12 have a right to notification and full inspection and disclosure of these educational records.  However, once a child turns 18 and begins college this right transfers to [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:56:56+00:00June 10th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Important Decisions to Make in a Student Disciplinary Proceeding

Within hours of first receiving notice that the student is being charged with a college or university disciplinary violation, he will be faced with serious decisions that will effect the outcome of the process. The first step in any disciplinary process requires the college or university to provide the student with formal, written notice of the charges against him.  Within a few days of receiving notice of the charges, the student must decide whether to plead guilt (i.e. responsible) or not guilty (not responsible) for the charges.  This first and most important decision is sometimes the most confusing and difficult [...]

By |2014-08-05T02:00:19+00:00June 7th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Dorm Room Search

Knock, knock, knock . . .on the other side of the door is your RA and the Police.  Unfortunately, this happens everyday at Colleges and Universities across the country.  What are a college students rights when facing a search of his dorm room? First, college staff normally has the right to enter and search a student's dorm room.  Every student should be familiar with his Student Handbook and Residency Regulations.  For example, at the University of Miami here in Coral Gables, Florida, the University Residency Regulations permit an 'inspection' at any time for a number of reasons, including checking for [...]

By |2018-04-11T14:31:09+00:00June 3rd, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Miami College Student Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Threatening President Obama on Facebook

A Miami-Dade College Student plead guilty last week in Federal Court to One Count of Threatening to Kill the President. In February, the student posted comments on his Facebook page with threats to President Obama at an upcoming campaign stop at the local University of Miami Campus in Coral Gables, Florida. Full Article is Here. This college student could face a sentence anywhere from probation up to 5 years in prison.  He will have a felony conviction on his record - forever.  In addition, he could face discipline at his college, Miami-Dade College,as he is a current student.  The Miami-Dade [...]

By |2014-08-05T02:04:59+00:00May 29th, 2012|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Appeal of University Suspension or Expulsion

Student discipline is normally handled at most colleges and universities by the Dean's Office or the Office of Student Affairs.  Students who are facing university discipline can normally request a full hearing (including calling witnesses and presenting evidence) before a school administrator or a student and faculty panel who acts as a "jury" and decides the guilt or innocence of the student.  If found guilty or "responsible" for the violation the student then receives discipline which could include probation, suspension or even expulsion. If a student loses at a disciplinary hearing or receives a sanction which they don't agree with [...]

By |2014-08-05T02:06:52+00:00May 27th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Arrest or Suspension Affects Both Financial Aid and Scholarships

A college student who was arrested has more to worry about than just going to criminal court and the direct consequences of a criminal charge. A student who is arrested may also face discipline at the university level which could result in suspension or expulsion.  Both an arrest and a disciplinary suspension can have serious consequences on a student's financial aid or scholarships. First, if a student receives a conviction in criminal court for a drug charge he will be ineligible for financial aid for a period of time.  To learn more about the length of financial aid disqualification check [...]

By |2014-08-05T02:08:30+00:00May 25th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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We Defend Criminal Arrest and Investigation Cases in State and Federal Court and College Disciplinary Cases through out South Florida including:
Miami Dade
Broward
Monroe

Office Location:

28 West Flagler Street
Suite 550
Miami, FL 33130
Tel: 305-441-9858
Fax: 786-471-7998

 

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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