Can Anyone Help Me???

I was suspended and ultimately expelled resulting from vadalism I was involved in at my public high school in Virginia. I was never given a hearing for my initial ten (10) day suspension and when I was alerted of the expulsion hearing I was never given a list or told the specific charges. I was never given a copy of the report that was issued to the board about my case. Futhermore I was told that a lawyer in the proceedings would not be necessary. Upon going to the expulsion hearing I had not yet been convicted of any crime. I was never given a chance to call witnesses or "cross-examine" the school board's witness. I believe these incidents are direct violations of my 14th and 5th amendment rights. Do you feeI this was illegal? I would like to know if I can legally have this suspension and expulsion removed from my record as well as recieve punitive damages?

You were not tried in a court of law. You were not convicted of a crime. The school has rules on how suspension hearings are handled and they probably do not include calling witnesses or using constitutional law. You probably have the option of appealing the suspension to the school district administrator. You could also talk to an attorney and see if there are any outside legal options available to you. But many states have laws that make schools judgement proof in cases of discipline. But you freely admit you broke school rules, and like they say, don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

I was tried in a court for those matters. I had not yet been brought to trial at the time of the school board meeting so therefore anything I said at the meeting could have been used against me in court. As for doing the crime, I did do the crime and I paid for it twice, once in court and once in school.