申请律师权入法:美国公立高校学生正当程序权利新进展

The Right to Counsel:The New Progress of Students’Due Process Rights in American Public Universities

律师能否介入公立高校纪律处分程序直接关乎学生的处分结果。美国法院秉持宪法精神,逐步确立了听证权在正当程序权利中的核心地位,而且主张学生聘请律师参与听证是保障正当程序的关键。经过60年的司法探索,近年来,美国联邦和各州在学生是否享有申请律师权方面,已达成两方面的共识:一是州法案在尊重高校学术权力的前提下,学生在纪律处分程序中可享有申请律师权;二是律师费由学生自己承担。在律师是否享有咨询权和质证权方面,由于律师质证权的重要性,州和联邦态度稍有不同。州法案态度相对保守,规定抽象且模糊;联邦法案则肯定律师享有质证权,但仍局限于学生涉嫌严重违纪的特殊情境。

Whether a counsel can intervene in the disciplinary proceeding of a public university is directly related to the result of the disciplinary actions.In the spirit of the U.S.Constitution,American courts have gradually established the core position of the hearing right in due process rights and advocated that students’right to counsel is the key to guarantee the due process.After 60 years of judicial exploration,the Federal and the States have finally established the legal status of the right to counsels,and reached the following consensus:Firstly,under the premise of respecting the academic power of universities,students have the right to counsel in disciplinary proceedings.Secondly,students need to pay the counsel’s fee.Because the counsel’s right of cross-examination plays an important role in the face of adverse witness evidence for students,the attitude of the State and the Federal Government is slightly different.Therefore,the attitude of State Law is relatively conservative;the Federal Law affirms that counsels have the right to cross-examination,but it is still limited to the special situation of serious violation of discipline.