Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima
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So I Made it Through My University Discipline Hearing – All is Well Now, Right?

Wrong — IF your discipline was related to a criminal charge that counts as a “1219 offense” in Ohio. Under Ohio law, if you are convicted of, or plead guilty to, a so-called 1219 offense that occurred on or about campus, you will be subject to a mandatory, state-wide suspension for a minimum term of one year. That’s right: mandatory, state-wide, and for a minimum of one year.

So what does this mean? It means that the interrelationship between your criminal case and university discipline case is important, and must be well coordinated. For example, you could successfully convince university officials not to suspend you for a given code infraction, but then plead guilty or be convicted of a 1219 offense that results in that same university sending you a letter indicating that you have been suspended state wide. Alternatively, you could have the greatest criminal lawyer in the world negotiate your case down-from, say, assault to disorderly conduct-only to have that very same lawyer botch the university discipline hearing, resulting in a suspension nonetheless. None of these matters should be handled in isolation.

Which offenses count as 1219 offenses? The list is long, but generally anytime you find yourself charged with a violent offense or a felony offense, you should be concerned.

Which schools will you be suspended from? You will be suspended from any college or university that receives funds from the State of Ohio.

What should you do if you find yourself charged with a 1219 offense? You should get in contact with an attorney versed in BOTH criminal and university discipline law before communicating with anyone connected to law enforcement or the university. Fighting a 1219 offense is fighting a battle on three fronts — be prepared.