Students facing criminal charges do not have the right to have an attorney actively participate in related disciplinary hearings at their school, a Pennsylvania federal judge has determined, ruling on an issue unaddressed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled, in an opinion captioned Simms v. Pennsylvania State University-Altoona, that a policy barring a student’s attorney from active participation in disciplinary hearings did not violate the student’s due process rights. Gibson dismissed student Grace Simms’ suit, which alleged the disciplinary proceedings violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights.
