Flaim v. Medical College of Ohio

Flaim (plaintiff) was a medical student at the Medical College of Ohio (medical school) (defendant) when he was arrested on felony drug charges. Two days after his arrest, Flaim was notified in writing by the medical school that he would not be allowed to return to campus until an internal hearing was held. Flaim pleaded guilty to one felony drug charge and was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation. After pleading guilty, Flaim requested a hearing with the medical school’s Student Conduct and Ethics Committee. Flaim was notified of the hearing date and that the arresting officer in his criminal case would testify. During the hearing, Flaim was allowed to have his counsel present, but his counsel was unable to participate. Flaim was not allowed to cross-examine the arresting officer, but he was allowed to testify and present evidence. The committee questioned Flaim about his arrest. The committee did not prepare written findings, but Flaim received written notice from the medical school’s dean that he was expelled for violating “institutional standards of conduct.” There was no right to appeal the decision. Flaim filed a lawsuit against the medical school, alleging his procedural and substantive due-process rights had been violated. Specifically, Flaim alleged his procedural due-process rights had been violated because he did not receive sufficient notice of the charges against him, he was denied a right to counsel, he was not allowed to cross-examine witnesses, the committee did not make written findings, and he was not granted the right to appeal. The district court dismissed Flaim’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Flaim appealed.