Disciplinary hearings are something that one may have to face which hold a special place that is a bit outside of the scope of traditional law. They are procedures that some institutions and organizations put in place in order to have a great amount of control over the proceedings that occur within their realm of influence. This is important because it means that what they say goes when it comes to how these types of things will play out. It is therefore a good idea to have a lawyer to help protect your rights in such situations.
Disciplinary Hearings In Professional Situations
Many professions have disciplinary hearings to address the behavior of those who work in the profession. It is their hope that addressing the issue in this kind of form will help them figure out exactly what happened in a given situation and how to address it. They can dole out punishments as they see fit when they have this kind of hearing to do some fact-finding.
You are more than entitled to have a lawyer with you during these hearings. A lawyer can make sure that your rights are protected and that you are able to present your side of the case as it were. Remember, there are always two sides to any story. You do not want to allow yourself to get steamrolled into accepting a judgement against you simply because you were unable to present your side of the case.
Unions
In America unions are not nearly as powerful as they once were. They still exist though, and most of them do allow for their members to have a disciplinary hearing if that is something that they desire to address an issue brought up by the union. They can have the hearing rather than be expelled from the union or have some other kind of issue.
Lawyers can help work through the case law that governs unions. They can with time present a case for their client that helps get them out of whatever punishment they might have otherwise have had to suffer if they did not have proper legal representation.
Being a part of a union has a lot of very important benefits to it. The biggest thing here is that you do not want to lose your membership in the union. You also do not want them to rule against you in terms of something that has happened at work because you may be due workers compensation or something else based on events that have taken place at work.
School Disciplinary Hearings
Another place where disciplinary hearings are common are schools. A lot of colleges and universities have set up this system whereby they can have the hearings on campus and hold students accountable for actions that they have taken.
These hearings are typically outlined in student handbooks that are given out to each student when they are first enrolled in the school. It is important to review the outline of how the disciplinary hearings work so that you can best understand what you are up against. Lawyers can be present when disciplinary hearings are going on. They can help their clients avoid getting expelled from school or having some other kind of black mark against them.
An attorney may not have full jurisdiction over everything that happens at the school, but he or she can definitely make a case before the school disciplinary board to help make sure that the student is protected against any kind of action that the school may decide it wants to take against them.
