As a former student advocate for an accused, I had the unfortunate circumstances of dealing with procedural errors that caused a UDSL student to be wrongly investigated for a violation of the Honor Code where probable cause ceased to exist. Honor Code § 4.02(d) states, "Probable Cause exists if the investigation has revealed reasonable, credible, and corroborative information that the reported student has committed the alleged acts. Probable Cause shall only be found upon a majority vote of all three voting members of the Investigatory Team, excluding the non-voting President."

In the case I mentioned earlier, the investigative team determined by a majority voted NOT to pursue a specific charge (e.g. the majority vote of the Investigatory Team failed to find the existence of probable cause). Nonetheless, it was reported that probable cause existed and an investigation ensued,causing the accused to endure unnecessary emotional anguish.

Furthermore, because there was a finding of probable cause, the Honor Council had a duty to "determine whether the nature of the violation warrants suspension or expulsion for the purposes of determining whether outside counsel will be permitted." It is upon my information and belief that this determination was never made, yet the accused was informed they were facing the possible penalty of suspension/expulsion. HONOR CODE § 4.02(d)(6).

The President of the Honor Council is responsible for procedural aspects of the Honor Council Proceedings. Due to these serious procedural errors, Mr. Laton should be removed from Honor Council.

Please vote to removal David Laton as President of UDSL Honor Council.