COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP).
The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, determined that the college’s determination that petitioner-student violated the code of student conduct was supported by substantial evidence:
“We emphasize that [t]he substantial evidence standard is a minimal standard” … , and “demands only that a given inference is reasonable and plausible, not necessarily the most probable”… . Stated differently, “[r]ationality is what is reviewed under the substantial evidence rule” …; substantial evidence is “such relevant proof as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion or ultimate fact” . Where substantial evidence exists, the reviewing court may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency, even if the court would have decided the matter differently … .
“[O]ften there is substantial evidence on both sides of an issue disputed before an administrative agency” … . Where substantial evidence exists to support a decision being reviewed by the courts, the determination must be sustained, “irrespective of whether a similar quantum of evidence is available to support other varying conclusions”… . Moreover, hearsay is admissible as competent evidence in an administrative proceeding, and if sufficiently relevant and probative may constitute substantial evidence even if contradicted by live testimony on credibility grounds … . …
Contrary to petitioner’s argument, the hearsay evidence proffered at the administrative hearing, along with petitioner’s testimony, provides substantial evidence in support of the finding that he violated respondents’ code of conduct. The hearing board also could have reasonably interpreted some of petitioner’s conceded behavior as consciousness of guilt and concluded that his version of the events was not credible. Ultimately, it was the province of the hearing board to resolve any conflicts in the evidence and make credibility determinations. The Appellate Division improperly engaged in a re-weighing of the evidence when it substituted its own factual findings for those of respondents … . Matter of Haug v State Univ. of N.Y. at Potsdam, 2018 NY Slip Op 06964, CtApp 10-18-18
EDUCATION-SCHOOL LAW (COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP))/EVIDENCE (EDUCATION-SCHOOL LAW, COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP))/ADMINISTRATIVE LAW (EDUCATION-SCHOOL LAW, COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP))/COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS, COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP))/SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE (ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP))
