Cited students receive advice
By MIKE CONNOLLY
News Writer
Three Notre Dame students with knowledge of the St. Joseph's County legal system and the Notre Dame Residents Life system spoke to students cited at Finnigan's Irish Pub on Oct. 13 to discuss their legal options.
"I guess I am glad that I am part of this Notre Dame tradition. We had Bridget's and you guys have Finnigan's," said Rudy Monterrosa, student bar president of the Notre Dame Law School and an assistant rector in Siegfried Hall.
Monterrosa, the coordinator of the public defender program at the Law School, told approximately 50 of the 147 Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students cited at Finnigan's what to expect when they go to the St. Joseph's County courthouse.
"This is really just to demystify the process," he said. "I know most of you have never been in court before and have never been in trouble with the law."
He said the prosecutor's office will most likely give the Finnigan's 147 the option for a pretrial diversion. If students select a pretrial diversion they will most likely be required to pay a $220 fine, perform 40 hours of community service and be placed on probation for one year. If students remain out of trouble for that one-year period, the citation will be wiped from their record.
He said the prosecutor's office is not interested in slamming the students with heavy punishments because it has so many cases to handle at once. Most of the students at the information session had court dates today.
"They are really worried about you folks coming over [Friday] because they are understaffed," Monterrosa said. "It's not everyday that they bust that many people so they are going to speed up the process. The pretrial diversion process is the best way to get this off your record."
If a student has prior offenses on his or her record, however, pretrial diversion may not be an option. If a student is not given the option of a pretrial diversion, Monterrosa recommended seeking a plea bargain with the prosecutor but also encouraged students to consult with a lawyer.
"I think [a pretrial] diversion is pretty much what everybody is going to get but everyone has different circumstances so your penalty may vary," said Monterrosa who planned to be at the courthouse today to give students advice.
While Monterrosa outlined exactly what the charges against the students meant, student government chief of staff Jay Smith told the students how the procedures at the courthouse actually work.
Smith spoke from personal experience. He was one of the 165 Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students cited at Bridget McGuire's on Jan. 30, 1998.
Smith encouraged students to show up for their hearings early and dress appropriately.
"It's early. It's Friday. It sucks but get there early," he said. "You don't want to give them any reason to mess with you."
In addition to punishment from St. Joseph's County, several students at the meeting were also concerned with possible punishment from ResLife.
Tony Wagner, president of the judicial board and a peer advocate, said all the Notre Dame students but three would receive conferences with ResLife and not ResLife hearings.
A conference is a one-on-one meeting with an administrator and usually less serious than a hearing. At a hearing, a panel of administrators interrogates the student about the violation and usually hands out harsher punishments than a conference. Student may request a peer advocate to assist them with a hearing but peer advocates do not usually participate in conferences, Wagner said.
While students cited at Bridget's did not receive further discipline from ResLife, Wagner suspects that the students cited at Finnigan's may be disciplined more seriously. With the Board of Trustees examining the alcohol policies at Notre Dame, Wagner thinks students might be treated more harshly than in the past.
"They may be taking this thing more seriously than in the past," Wagner said but he didn't know what those punishments might be. "I can't even begin to understand their minds."
All News Stories for Friday, October 27, 2000
