Case #861

DATE: April 3, 2017
PARTIES: University of Toronto v. R.R. ("the Student")

Hearing Date(s): January 13, 2017

Panel Members:
Ms. Sara Zborovski, Barrister and Solicitor, Chair
Professor Pascal Riendeau, Faculty Panel Member
Mr. Chad Jankowski, Student Panel Member

Appearances:
Mr. Rob Genta, Assistant Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland, Barristers
Ms. Emily Home, Articling Student, Paliare Roland, Barristers
Mr. Alex Redinger, Law Student for the Student, Downtown Legal Services

In Attendance:
Ms. Krista Osbourne, Administrative Assistant, Office of the Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances

Not in Attendance:
The Student


Trial Division - s. B.i.1(a) of Code - falsifying document - student wrote false name and student number on mid-term worth 20% - student not in attendance - guilty plea - finding of guilt based on agreed statement of facts - joint submission on penalty accepted - zero on course, three year suspension, four year notation, publication of the decision with the name of the Student withheld

The Student was charged with one offence of falsifying evidence under s. B.i.1(a) of the Code, and alternatively, falsifying an academic record under s. B.i.3(a) of the Code, and alternatively, academic dishonesty under s. B.i.3(b) of the Code. The student admitted to writing a false name and student number on a mid-term worth 20% of the final grade in the course.

The parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts in which the Student pled guilty to all three charges. A Joint Submission on Penalty was also submitted. The Panel noted that the threshold for rejecting a jointly-proposed sanction was not met and that the Joint Submission on Penalty was appropriate as measured against the often referenced factors relevant to sentencing considerations. The Panel noted that the Student had previously been sanctioned twice for academic offences receiving a grade of zero on an assignment one time and a grade of zero on a course another. The Panel ordered that the Student receive a grade of zero on the course, a three year suspension, a four year notation, and that the decision be published with the name of the Student withheld.