Another promising University of Miami Hurricane football player was arrested last month - this time for DUI. The response by the UM athletic department again was immediate and a day later the freshman student was out of school. It is unclear whether this student left voluntarily or he was expelled. You can see the local coverage of the story here.
Graduation may finally be here for some college students. Hopefully, post graduation plans include many employment opportunities. It is rare these days to obtain a job without going through a criminal background check. These words will immediately invoke fear in many, many college students who may have partied too hard or made a silly, youthful mistake that resulted in an arrest during the college years. Almost all of my college student clients want to know what exactly is on their criminal background as result of an arrest and/or criminal case. When I handle a criminal case I am able to [...]
The media firestorm this week has been blazing with news of every detail of Justin Bieber's DUI arrest in Miami (my own backyard) this week. But, what I haven't heard yet is why Justin Bieber and many other celebrities along with most of my clients don't know their legal rights when they come into contact with law enforcement or when they have been arrested. Learn them, know them and use them because this could make or break your criminal case. Basically, the rules are simple. Here we go. When a police officer asks you any questions you have the absolute [...]
College students in Miami, Florida may be eligible to take advantage of a fairly new Driving Under the Influence (DUI) program called Back on Track (BOT). It is available only in the Miami-Dade County court system for first time DUI offenders and there are a number of criteria for eligibility and program requirements. The Back on Track program has been in existence for over and year and hundreds of people have already taken advantage of its benefits. These benefits are particularly helpful to college students who have been arrested for DUI. First, if a college student is eligible for this DUI [...]
Students have returned to Colleges and Universities all over the country for another academic year. This means a return to campus, friends and partying. Law enforcement is also out in force around campus knowing that students are returning. New Freshman and even returning students should be particularly aware during this time of typical police investigations of underage drinking of college students, including policing and ID checking in bars close to campus, patrolling football tailgating, and DUI checkpoints on roads surrounding campus. Underage drinking or possessing alcohol as a minor is a crime - normally just a misdemeanor, but still a [...]
When statistics show that over 3 million students ages 18-24 have driven drunk, it is not surprising that many college students across the country are arrested every year for DUI. In many states there is a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. This means that even if your state law has a breath alcohol limit of .10 or .08 this does not apply to those under 21. In Miami, Florida, for example, a student who is under the age of 21 and stopped for DUI it does not matter what the alcohol level is - any amount of [...]
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 [...]
"The Dean of Students, or his/her designee, has the authority and responsibility for the administration of the disciplinary system and the establishment of procedures, which apply to all students alleged to be in violation of this Code of Conduct, whether an incident occurs on campus or elsewhere." University of Miami 2011-2012 Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook page 31. Almost every university disciplinary code I have ever read includes a provision permitting the school to discipline a student even if an incident or crime occurs off campus and has nothing to do with the university, another student or the staff. In fact, I recently represented [...]
