Hiring a DC Student Sexual Misconduct Attorney

If you or your child are facing sexually-based allegations of misconduct at school, it may be crucial for you to get legal representation. Facing these accusations can be frightening and overwhelming, especially if you are underprepared.

Hiring a DC student sexual misconduct attorney could help you to better understand your rights, review the allegations lodged against you, and form a defense to preserve your student status. A dedicated lawyer could champion your case through each step.

What to Do After Being Charged with Sexual Misconduct

A student should carefully review what information they must have in support of their sexual misconduct defense. The student will typically receive a notification letter explaining what exactly they have been accused of doing. In certain cases, however, the letter is very vague without much information. Therefore, they should examine the content of the letter very carefully and hire a knowledgeable attorney for guidance.

The accused person should also speak with their parents if they are comfortable doing so. If the campus or the school has designated an individual to be an advisor, it is safe and acceptable to reach out to them. This individual might help a student to better understand the process for dealing with allegations, as well as what their options are. The person may also explain what will occur procedurally during the ensuing process.

Things to Avoid

Individuals should not start talking about what may have occurred to any investigator or representative of the university—because none of this information will be confidential or privileged. They should also not talk about the substance of the event with anyone other than a lawyer. Even if a person speaks with a trusted friend, they could, hypothetically, record or discuss this conversation with others.

Furthermore, an accused individual should not speak about the facts or try to respond to the investigator and immediately explain their side of the story. While there will be an opportunity to share one’s side of the story at an appropriate time, it should come after consulting with a legal professional, and after evaluating all the information in the case.

Contacting the Accuser

A person charged with a violation of the campus code should never contact the accuser. If the person knows the identity of the individual who made allegations against them, they should not try to contact the person to apologize, figure out what is going on, or discuss the matter.

Usually, the accused will receive some form of Stay-Away Order. This means that the campus has directed the person not to contact the accuser. This alone is reason enough for a defendant to avoid contact with their accuser. Even without the order, however, they should avoid them, since anything that is said is typically inappropriate and could be damaging for the accused in the long run.

Defendants should also avoid reaching out to the accuser or to the university to apologize—even if they did something that they may be remorseful about. This is because apologizing is considered an admission of guilt and an acceptance of responsibility for the accusation. Even if someone is not trying to apologize for what is alleged and they simply mean to communicate their innocence as to what is alleged, making apologies or putting in written expressions of remorse can certainly be used against the defendant.

Obtaining Legal Counsel for College Offenses

A student is always allowed to—and cannot be restricted from—hiring a sexual misconduct attorney in DC and seeking help with their defense. When it comes to direct legal representation in the campus conduct matters, most schools do not allow legal representation. This means that a lawyer is not allowed to speak on a student’s behalf and cannot email or contact university officials for them. However, students could still discuss the matter with their attorney and get the advice they need.

It should also be noted that most campuses allow an attorney to be present and sit in the room with the student at the hearing. While some campuses ban them from being there altogether, most allow a legal professional to be present if the student does all the talking. The lawyer cannot, however, speak on behalf of the accused the way they could during a standard criminal case.

When to Hire a DC Student Sexual Misconduct Attorney

Anyone on campus who is charged with misconduct, or any Code of Conduct violation, should consider hiring a DC student sexual misconduct attorney immediately. The sooner a lawyer learns of a person’s allegations, the more time it could give them to investigate, prepare, and develop a strategy.

Time could be of the essence for any information or evidence that must be obtained. Any existing surveillance footage could periodically get recorded over. Potential witnesses or anyone else who might have relevant information may find that their memories have faded after a certain period of time. Most campuses have time-based deadlines in terms of when an accused must respond and how that process plays out. Contacting a legal professional immediately could help individuals meet such time limits. Call an accomplished lawyer today to begin building your defense case.