Reilly v. Daly
| Decision Date | 07 June 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 49A05-9509-CV-354,49A05-9509-CV-354 |
| Citation | 666 N.E.2d 439 |
| Parties | 110 Ed. Law Rep. 769 Therese B. REILLY, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Walter J. DALY, et al., Appellees-Defendants. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Plaintiff-Appellant Therese Reilly appeals the trial court's order denying her request for preliminary injunction against Defendants-Appellees Indiana University School of Medicine, Walter Daly, dean of the School, Professors Lynn Willis and Joseph DiMicco, and members of the Student Promotions Committee. Reilly raises several issues for our review which we rephrase as whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the injunction. We affirm.
In 1991, Therese Reilly began a course of study at the Indiana University Medical School. In the fall of her second year at the school, Reilly enrolled in a Medical Pharmacology course directed by Professors Lynn Willis and Joseph DiMicco. On December 19, 1994, Reilly sat for the final examination in the course. During the exam, Professors Willis and DiMicco noticed that Reilly was acting in an unusual and suspicious manner. Reilly held her test paper up in the air, looked around the room, and wrote her exam on her left thigh positioning herself in such a way that she was turned toward another student seated just two seats away. The professors believed that Reilly was copying or attempting to copy from the other student's paper. Approximately halfway through the exam, the other student got up to ask Professor Willis a question. At that time, Professor Willis requested that the student cover his paper more completely.
Professors Willis and DiMicco had taught Pharmacology at the medical school for approximately twenty-two and fifteen years respectively and were quite familiar with the behavioral manifestations of cheating. The professors indicated that cheating behavior, while not easy to verbalize, is so distinct that it is immediately recognizable. Reilly's behavior stopped when the neighboring student left the test room.
At the conclusion of the exam period, the professors held the exam papers of Reilly and the neighboring student in order to determine whether their answers matched. A comparison of the exams revealed that the first seven pages, which included twenty-seven multiple choice and matching questions, were identical. The perfect match abruptly ended halfway through the exam, approximately the time when the neighboring student was warned to cover his paper.
Taking the conservative approach of comparing only wrong answers on only the multiple choice questions, the professors were advised by a statistician that there was a one in 200,000 probability that such a match of wrong answers on the multiple choice questions would occur by chance. The exact match on the first half of the exam along with the statistical analysis of wrong answers combined with the behavior that originally drew the professors' attention to Reilly convinced them that Reilly had indeed cheated on the exam.
The professors sent an evaluation form to Reilly notifying her that they had assigned her a grade of "F" in the course because they determined that she had cheated on the final exam. The evaluation form set forth the behavior they perceived as suspicious, as well as their statistical comparisons. Reilly protested her grade by way of a January 10, 1995, letter to the professors, after which the professors reaffirmed their decision, fully setting forth their reasons for so doing.
On January 17, 1995, an informal conference was conducted at which Reilly and her counsel questioned the professors and presented Reilly's position. At the conference, Reilly admitted the behavior described by the professors but explained that it was the result of too much coffee and too little sleep. She presented her medical school grades in order to demonstrate that she was a good student who did not need to cheat. Reilly also presented her own statistical analysis of the exam and brought to the professors' attention the possibility of "lure" questions on the exam which would heighten the probability of the match occurring by chance. The professors thereafter obtained a new statistical analysis taking into account "lure" questions on the exam. This analysis demonstrated a one in 500 to one in 5000 probability of the match occurring by chance. On January 27, 1995, the professors wrote to Reilly, reaffirming their position that she had cheated and explaining the reasons why the evidence she presented did not produce a different result. Reilly appealed this decision to the Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology who declined to provide her relief.
On February 23, 1995, the School notified Reilly of a hearing before the Student Promotions Committee to appeal her grade and to show cause why she should not be dismissed for failure to maintain minimal academic standards. Medical School policy dictates that once a student has received two "Fs" in his or her medical school record, the Committee will review the student's academic standing. Two "Fs" in the record is grounds for automatic dismissal from the School.
At the Committee hearing, conducted March 13, 1995, Reilly was assisted by counsel and was given the opportunity to fully present her version of the facts. Pursuant to university policy, Professors Willis and DiMicco were not present at the hearing. However, the transcript of the informal conference between Reilly and the professors as well as all documents and letters exchanged prior to the hearing were presented to the Committee for its consideration.
After considering all the evidence, the Committee voted to recommend that Reilly be dismissed from the School of Medicine because she had received two grades of "F" in her medical school career. 1 Reilly appealed the decision back to the Committee which then voted to affirm its recommendation of dismissal. On June 13, 1995, the dean of the School adopted the Committee's recommendation and dismissed Reilly from the School.
That same day, Reilly filed a complaint against the Indiana University School of Medicine, Walter Daly, dean of the School, Professors Lynn Willis and Joseph DiMicco, and members of the Student Promotions Committee (collectively "the School") alleging various constitutional violations and requesting a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction against enforcement of the School's decision. The trial court granted a temporary restraining order but thereafter denied the request for preliminary injunction. This interlocutory appeal ensued.
The grant or denial of a preliminary injunction is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the scope of appellate review is limited to deciding whether there has been a clear abuse of discretion. Amoco Production Co. v. Laird, 622 N.E.2d 912 (Ind.1993). The power to issue a preliminary injunction should be used sparingly, and such relief should not be granted except in rare instances in which the law and facts are clearly within the moving party's favor. T.H. Landfill Co., Inc. v. Miami County Solid Waste Dist., 628 N.E.2d 1237 (Ind.Ct.App.1994).
The trial court's discretion to grant or deny preliminary injunctive relief is measured by several factors: 1) whether the plaintiff's remedies at law are inadequate thus causing irreparable harm pending the resolution of the substantive action if the injunction does not issue; 2) whether the plaintiff has demonstrated at least a reasonable likelihood of success at trial by establishing a prima facie case; 3) whether the threatened injury to the plaintiff outweighs the threatened harm the grant of the injunction may inflict on the defendant; and 4) whether, by the grant of the preliminary injunction, the public interest would be disserved. Xantech Corp. v. Ramco Industries, Inc., 643 N.E.2d 918, 921 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). The party seeking an injunction has the burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the facts and circumstances entitle the party to injunctive relief. Steenhoven v. College Life Ins. Co. of America, 458 N.E.2d 661, 668 n. 20 (Ind.Ct.App.1984), reh'g denied, 460 N.E.2d 973 (Ind.Ct.App.1984).
Reilly contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying her request for preliminary injunction because each of the elements required for issuance of an injunction was established by a preponderance of the evidence. Although Reilly addresses each of the elements in turn, we address only her claim that she established a reasonable likelihood of success at trial because that issue is dispositive.
In support of her claim, Reilly asserts that the proceedings before the Committee did not comport with the requirements of due process and equal protection and that the Committee's decision was arbitrary and capricious because it is unsupported by substantial evidence.
Reilly's due process claim is based on the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and on Article I, § 12 of the Indiana Constitution. According to Reilly, the School violated her right to due process by: (1) denying her the opportunity to question Professors Willis and DiMicco before the Student Promotions Committee, (2) charging her with violating a rule which prohibits the appearance of cheating, an allegedly vague and overbroad standard, and (3) failing to judge her by the clear and convincing standard of proof.
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. Indiana Const. art. I, § 12 contains a similar provision and has been construed by our cour...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Melton v. Ind. Athletic Trainers Bd.
...of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from treating individuals who are similarly situated differently. Reilly v. Daly , 666 N.E.2d 439, 445 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996), trans. denied . But it does not require that all persons be treated either identically or equally. Id. at 445-46. Rather,......
-
Smith v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. Of Virginia
...Island, 837 F.2d 7, 12 (1st Cir.1988); Carey v. Maine Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 17, 754 F.Supp. 906, 918 (D.Me. 1990); Reilly v. Daly, 666 N.E.2d 439, 444 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). Plaintiff cites Jones v. Board of Governors of Univ. of North Carolina, 704 F.2d 713 (4th Cir.1983), for the proposition ......
-
Tigrett v. Rector and Visitors of Univ. Of Va
...Island, 837 F.2d 7, 12 (1st Cir.1988); Carey v. Maine Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 17, 754 F.Supp. 906, 918 (D.Me.1990); Reilly v. Daly, 666 N.E.2d 439, 444 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). It is no longer open to question that any expulsion from a state university or college must comport with the Due Process C......
-
Smith v. Rector and Visitors of Univ. Of Virginia
...Island, 837 F.2d 7, 12 (1st Cir.1988); Carey v. Maine Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 17, 754 F.Supp. 906, 918 (D.Me. 1990); Reilly v. Daly, 666 N.E.2d 439, 444 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). It is no longer open to question that any expulsion from a state university or college must comport with the Due Process ......