College Arrest 101 Blog | Effects of a College Suspension

You or your child may be facing a University Disciplinary violation or hearing where suspension is a real likelihood. In fact, many code of conduct violations carry a "possibility" of suspension or expulsion but ultimately this very serious penalty is not imposed. When a suspension is given from the University, it normally ranges from one semester to two years, depending on your school and the seriousness of the violation. I have not personally seen a suspension over two years and assume at that point the college would entertain expulsion. There are some immediate, short term and long term effects of [...]

By |2018-04-11T13:44:54+00:00April 11th, 2018|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | Speech, Social Media and Discipline

The intersection of free speech, hate speech, social media and college discipline are playing out in campuses across the country and in some courts. College students use social media constantly and almost exclusively to voice their opinions and ideas. Many Universities have faced challenges when these opinions border on hate speech or racism and school officials are turning to the University Disciplinary system. Many University codes bar and punish many types of normally protected speech. Sounds unAmerican? Against the Constitution? What about the First Amendment? This is the challenge. For example, an App called Yik Yak has spurned a number [...]

By |2018-03-28T12:35:28+00:00January 25th, 2016|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | Another UM Football Player Arrested and Out of School

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.  

By |2016-10-20T00:43:42+00:00October 17th, 2014|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | Back to Campus

The 2014-2015 college academic year has just started for most colleges and universities. Here in Miami, students have been back to campus for about a week now and classes have just begun. This is a very busy time for Freshman and returning students alike. New and old friends are meeting up and enjoying themselves all around campus and town. As I warn every fall, students should be extra careful in these first few weeks of the semester when the police are out in full force patrolling for typical college student illegal activity like drugs use and underage drinking. Many campus [...]

By |2018-03-28T12:37:31+00:00August 27th, 2014|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | Colleges Spend Summer Break Rewriting Disciplinary Rules

What do college administrators spend their summer doing? They open up their Student Handbooks and Disciplinary Codes and revise their policies based upon the changes and events that have occurred in the preceding school year. This summer's hot topic is Sexual Assault and Consent.  With rape statistics on college campuses on the rise, colleges are under pressure to review their policies and are completely revamping their definitions of consent - even including examples and hypotheticals. You can read about the definition of consent coming to a campus near you here or listen to the NPR story here: New [...]

By |2018-03-28T12:24:19+00:00August 1st, 2014|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | Yes the Police Can Report Your Arrest to Your College

College students who have been arrested off campus may be under the incorrect impression that they are in the clear - that their school will not find out about the arrest and they can't be disciplined by the University for it. When in fact any police officer, prosecutor or anyone else can report misconduct to your college disciplinary office. And recall most student codes of conduct also apply to student activity which occurs off campus and even during vacation (read all about it here in my earlier blog post on this very dangerous topic). I have had students arrested off [...]

By |2014-08-04T23:51:52+00:00May 12th, 2014|Legal Discussion|Comments Off on College Arrest 101 Blog | Yes the Police Can Report Your Arrest to Your College
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | US Supreme Court Has NEVER Heard a Case Involving College Student Discipline

Surprising. I just read in a legal essay discussing the evolution of the due process law in college student disciplinary cases that the US Supreme Court has never heard a case involving College Student Discipline. Lower appeal courts have addressed these issues on a few occasions, but never the highest court. This is surprising because the issues in college student disciplinary cases involve broad Constitutional questions and ideas like "due process." Such import overarching policies and interpretations should be determined universally and by our highest court. Not left to differing opinions by various judges around the country and certainly not [...]

By |2018-03-28T19:44:39+00:00March 27th, 2014|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog |Freedom of Speech or Facing Suspension? | ASU College Students’ Racist MLK Party

Social media postings land another group of College Students in discipline. This time a fraternity at Arizona State University was suspended and a number of students involved in the party are facing discipline for a racist Martin Luther King day party. Read about the facts here. This is not the first time that social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram has gotten a College Student brought up on disciplinary charges.  College Students need to know that anything that is posted by you or depicting you on the Internet or social media can be used by your college or university to [...]

By |2018-03-28T19:48:30+00:00February 3rd, 2014|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | College Students, Drug Dealing and University Discipline

Recently, a huge drug bust went down at the University of Alabama.  It made national news and about 61 college students were arrested in this sting operation.  You can read about it here. Drug operations happen every day and college students get arrested for drug crimes all the time.  But, there is a big difference between an arrest for drug possession and an arrest for drug dealing (i.e. selling, distributing, etc.) especially for a college student.  Drug possession would be when the student is caught smoking a joint or with a small amount of marijuana or cocaine or pills for [...]

By |2018-03-28T20:11:04+00:00April 2nd, 2013|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
Read More

College Arrest 101 Blog | How to Prepare for a College Disciplinary Hearing

Whether it be an "informal" meeting with the Dean to "discuss" the incident, or a formal conference or disciplinary hearing before an administrator or a disciplinary panel, a college should student be prepared. Many times students don't know or understand the disciplinary process and think it's "no big deal" or they have been told by another student who has gone though the process "not worry about it." Nothing could be farther from the truth.  You need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. The first way to prepare is to read and be familiar with the college [...]

By |2014-08-05T00:23:31+00:00March 4th, 2013|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
Read More

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:

150 SE 2nd Avenue
Suite 202
Miami, FL 33131
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.

Go to Top