On February 1, 2013, the Committee held a hearing to resolve two charges against a student. Both charges stemmed from a required paper in a course. The first charge was that the student violated § 1.020(1)(A) of the Code by lying to the professor about why the student did not submit the paper by the due date. The second charge was that the student violated § 1.020(1)(B)(ii) of the Code by intentionally engaging in plagiarism in connection with the paper that the student eventually submitted.
The Committee found that there was clear and convincing evidence that the student was guilty of both charges. The evidence established that the student’s failure to submit the paper by the due date was not the result of computer problems as the student had claimed. The evidence also established that most of the student’s paper was copied, with minor modifications, from articles written by others. Finally, the evidence established that the student acted intentionally.
The Committee determined that the student’s conduct was serious and warranted serious sanctions. The Committee therefore imposed the following sanctions. First, the student was dismissed from the College of Law. Second, a notation regarding the student’s dismissal and the basis for the student’s dismissal was made on the student’s academic transcript, and, additionally, a permanent record of the proceedings and the Committee’s findings and determinations were made part of the student’s file at the College of Law.
The student appealed the Committee's decision to the Dean pursuant to § 1.080(1) of the Code. The student challenged both the Committee's findings and sanctions. The student's attorney and the Honor Code Prosecutor submitted briefs in connection with the appeal. On February 27, the Dean issued a written decision, affirming both the Committee's findings and its sanctions.
The Committee ordered this public posting to keep the Law College Community informed of the matters that come before the Committee and of the decisions that the Committee makes.