Harry Blackmun: Students on Trial, Part III: Lawyers NOT Needed

Rejecting the view of Cyril Robinson, the committee that rewrote the Student Conduct Code explained why lawyers are NOT required in university proceedings. For the full report, see www.siu.edu/staffair/pdfs/ConductCodeCommitteeReport.pdf

The committee cited Harry Blackmun, most famous for his Roe v. Wade opinion. In Esteban v. Central Missouri State College (415 F. 2d 1077), Blackmun wrote:

". . . school regulations are not to be measured by the standards which prevail for the criminal law and for criminal procedure; and that the courts should interfere only where there is a clear case of constitutional infringement."

Read, compare, and make up your own mind.