Title IX Defense Lawyer Maryland

A campus sexual misconduct matter at a Maryland college or university is an institutional proceeding. The school runs it, the school’s own policy supplies the rules, and the outcome is a school outcome: a finding, a sanction, a transcript notation, a suspension, or an expulsion. It is not a criminal case, and a criminal court does not supervise it.

The federal regulations that shape campus procedure have been amended, challenged in court, and enjoined more than once. Because of that history, the procedure that governs a particular matter depends on the institution and on the rules in force for that matter, and this page does not state what those rules require. The version in force for one matter may not be the version in force for another. The two documents that actually control your situation are your school’s policy as the school applies it and the written notice you received, and reading them together is the first work of a defense.

Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. works with students, respondents, and families facing Maryland campus proceedings, and with the parallel criminal exposure that sometimes accompanies them. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., directs the firm’s work in these matters. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

On this page

What a Maryland Campus Title IX Matter Is

A Maryland campus matter is an institutional proceeding. A school official or a panel appointed by the institution decides it, the school’s policy supplies the definitions and the process, and the result is a school result. No judge presides, and the case is not filed in a Maryland court.

That description matters because the federal regulations governing these proceedings have been rewritten, litigated, and enjoined repeatedly in recent years. The procedure applied to a matter at one institution may differ from the procedure applied at another, or at a different time. This page therefore does not state deadlines, standards of proof, hearing formats, questioning procedures, or appeal rights, because stating them as settled law would mislead a reader whose matter is governed by a different version.

Two documents control what actually happens. The first is the institution’s own policy, in the form the institution applies to your matter. The second is the written notice you received, which identifies the conduct alleged, the policy provisions at issue, and the process the school says it will follow. Read them together, in that order, before responding to anything. Where the notice and the policy do not match, that gap is itself worth raising.

The criminal question runs on a separate track. A campus finding is not a conviction, and a campus dismissal is not a declination to charge. Maryland can prosecute conduct alleged on a campus under its own statutes, including rape in the second degree under Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-304 and sexual offense in the fourth degree under Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-308. A student should assume that anything written or said in the campus process can reach a police agency or a prosecutor, and should coordinate the two matters with counsel before submitting a written response, sitting for an interview, or sending a message to anyone involved.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys start a campus matter by collecting the documents that govern it. The firm asks for the written notice, the full policy the institution says applies, any related student handbook provisions, and every message the student has already sent or received about the allegation. Until those are in hand, no one can say what process the matter will follow.

The firm then separates the two tracks. A campus process and a criminal investigation can run at the same time, and each one creates risk for the other. The firm advises on what a student writes, what a student signs, and whether to sit for an interview, weighing the campus consequence against the criminal exposure under statutes such as Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-304 and Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-308. That analysis belongs to counsel who can see both tracks at once.

The firm also reads the institution’s stated process against what the institution actually does in the matter. Where the school departs from its own policy, the record of that departure has value, and building the record is work that has to happen while the proceeding is live rather than afterward.

The role an attorney may play inside a campus proceeding varies by institution and by the rules governing the matter, so the firm confirms that role in writing before the first meeting. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle Maryland campus matters and Maryland criminal charges. The firm maintains 24/7 phone intake for students who receive a notice outside business hours.

About Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys

Mr. Sris founded the firm in 1997 and holds the title Owner and Founder. He is a former prosecutor. He is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York.

A campus matter is not a criminal case, but the habits that matter in one carry into the other: read the governing document before the narrative, hold the decision-maker to the written rules, and protect the client from statements that cannot be taken back. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys apply that approach to Maryland campus proceedings and to any Maryland criminal charge that arrives alongside one.

The firm’s Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and work with Mr. Sris on Maryland matters. In a campus case, that arrangement lets the firm handle the document review, the written response, and any parallel criminal exposure without shuttling the client between unrelated advisors.

The firm practices in criminal defense and in the student discipline matters connected to it, and it concentrates in cases where an accusation carries consequences beyond the immediate proceeding. Students and families should bring the notice and the policy to the first meeting, because those documents shape every recommendation that follows. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a campus Title IX matter a criminal case?

No. A campus matter is an institutional proceeding that a college or university runs under its own policy. The decision-maker works for the school, the sanctions are school sanctions such as suspension or expulsion, and no Maryland court supervises the outcome. A criminal case is separate. Maryland prosecutors charge under Maryland statutes, and a campus finding neither creates nor prevents a criminal charge. The two can proceed at the same time, which is why a student should get advice covering both before responding to either.

What procedure will my school follow?

The answer comes from your institution, not from this page. The federal regulations that shape campus procedure have been amended and litigated repeatedly, so the process that applies to your matter depends on the school and on the rules in force for that matter. This page does not state deadlines, standards of proof, hearing formats, or appeal rights, because any statement of them would be accurate for some matters and wrong for others. Start with the written notice you received and the policy the school identifies in it, and have counsel read both against each other.

Should I write a response before talking to a lawyer?

Treat a written response as evidence, because it functions that way in both tracks. What a student submits to a school can be read later by investigators and prosecutors, and a written account given before counsel reviews the file can supply detail no one had. The safer sequence is to gather the notice, the policy, and the communications first, get advice on what the response should and should not contain, and then draft. A campus notice usually sets its own response date, so treat the date in your notice as the operative one and contact counsel promptly.

Can a Maryland criminal charge come out of a campus allegation?

Yes. A school proceeding does not shield conduct from prosecution, and Maryland charges sexual offenses under its own statutes, including rape in the second degree under Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-304 and sexual offense in the fourth degree under Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-308, which is a misdemeanor. Whether a prosecutor files anything depends on the investigation rather than on what the school concludes. A student facing both should have the campus strategy and the criminal strategy built together, because a step that helps in one track can create a problem in the other.

Where is Mr. Sris admitted, and does the firm handle Maryland campus matters?

Mr. Sris is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle Maryland campus proceedings and the Maryland criminal charges that sometimes accompany them. The role an attorney may take inside a particular campus proceeding is set by the institution and by the rules governing that matter, so the firm confirms that role in writing at the outset instead of assuming it. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747, and bring the notice and the policy to the first meeting.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.