Student Rights

Student Rights in the Judicial Process

An accused student has the following rights:

1. The right to a fair and impartial hearing.
2. The right to a presumption of not being responsible for a violation until proven responsible as determined by a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing.
3. The right to be notified of the charges against him or her, the specific rule or policy violated, the time, date and place of the scheduled judicial hearing at least 72 hours prior to the hearing (except when the accused student postpones the hearing) and provided the student has informed the university of his or her current contact information. If the student has not furnished the university with current contact information, JMU has only to make a reasonable attempt to notify him or her with the most recent contact information provided.
4. The right to an adviser of his or her choice provided that person is willing to assist and advise the student during the judicial hearing process. The adviser must be a student, faculty or staff member selected from the university community. A student may have an attorney or adviser present if the Office of Judicial Affairs is notified within 48 hours of the hearing. An attorney or adviser attending a hearing may not actively represent the accused student but may give advice to the student on how to present his or her case. *
5. The right to question all witnesses who testify at the hearing and/or to challenge all materials presented at the hearing.*
6. The right to present witnesses to testify or provide witness statements in his or her defense. The judicial body shall have the authority to limit the number of witnesses in order to avoid unreasonable delays where the testimony would be repetitious or unnecessary.*
7. The right to be present during the entire hearing (except for closed judicial deliberation) and to know all evidence used in the proceeding. The student may, however, elect not to appear and failure to appear shall not be construed as an admission of responsibility.
8. The student has the right to remain silent and such silence shall not be construed as an admission of responsibility.
9. The right to be notified in writing of the decision of the judicial body or hearing officer within 10 days of the date of the hearing.
10. The right to one appeal to a higher judicial body or university administrative official within three class days of receiving the judicial decision for any of the following causes:*
• Violation of due process and student rights
• New evidence
• Harshness of sanction(s)
11. The right to have access to a recording of his or her hearing for the purposes of preparing for an appeal. Students may not bring their own recording devices to council hearings. Recordings of the hearing will be destroyed after completion of the appeal process.

* Not applicable to an administrative option hearing.