Amaya v. Brater

993 N.E.2d 311, 2013 WL 4714272, 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 420
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided September 3, 2013·No. No. 49A04-1212-PL-620·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BROWN, Judge.

Peter F. Amaya was dismissed from Indiana University School of Medicine (“IUSM”) for failure to maintain acceptable professional standards by allegedly cheating on an examination. Amaya appeals the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of D. Craig Brater, M.D., in his capacity as Dean and Director of IUSM; the Board of Trustees of Indiana University; Members of the Student Promotions Committee (“the SPC”); Patricia Treadwell, M.D., Chair of the Student Promotions Committee; Joseph A. DiMicco, Ph.D.; Kathleen A. Prag, M.D.; and Klaus A. Hilgarth, M.D., (collectively, the “University”) with respect to his claim that his due process rights were violated resulting in his expulsion from IUSM. Amaya raises several issues, which we revise and restate as whether the trial court erred in granting the University’s motion for summary judgment with respect to his claims that [313]*313he was not afforded due process and that his dismissal is not supported by substantial evidence.1 We affirm.

FACTS

In the spring of 2010, Amaya was a third-year medical student at IUSM in Indianapolis. Amaya v. Brater, 981 N.E.2d 1235, 1236-1237 (Ind.Ct.App.2013), reh’g denied, trans. denied,2 On March 29, 2010, Amaya sat for a mini-block exam consisting of Introduction to Clinical Medicine II, Pharmacology, and Pathology. Id. at 1237. Three professors, Dr. DiMicco, Dr. Hilgarth, and Dr. Prag, each observed Amaya during the examination and concluded that he was cheating by looking at the paper of the student to his right. Id. On March 30, 2010, Dr. DiMicco confronted Amaya with his observations, and Ama-ya denied cheating. On April 5, 2010, Dr. Hilgarth confronted Amaya with his observations and explained to Amaya that his behavior of looking into the workspace of the student to his right gave the appearance of cheating. Id. Amaya denied that he cheated or that he engaged in any behavior that gave the appearance of cheating and maintained that he was merely looking over and up at the clock on the right-hand wall of the testing room. Id.

On April 21, 2010, Dr. Treadwell, the chair of the SPC, wrote to Amaya and notified him that he had been accused of cheating by Dr. DiMicco and Dr. Hilgarth and that, if true, his behavior constituted a serious breach of professionalism and a violation of the school’s honor code. Id. Dr. Treadwell informed him that a show cause hearing was scheduled for May 17, 2010, during which Amaya should appear before the SPC and explain why he should not be dismissed from the school for failure to maintain acceptable professional standards. Id. Amaya was provided copies of written correspondence from Dr. DiMic-co, Dr. Hilgarth, and Dr. Prag, in which they explained the basis of their allegations of cheating. Id.

Prior to the show cause hearing, Amaya met with James Brokaw, Ph.D., the associate dean for Admissions and Medical Student Affairs, to help Amaya prepare for his presentation to the SPC and to make sure that he understood the process. Id.

On May 17, 2010, a hearing was held before the SPC, at which Amaya made a PowerPoint presentation and tendered a written submission including photographs, field studies, timelines, and statistical analysis. Id. He maintained that he was not looking at the other student’s paper when he took the examination but was, instead, looking at the clock on the right-hand wall. Id.

In a letter dated May 21, 2010, Dr. Treadwell stated that the SPC voted to table further deliberation of the case until the information Amaya presented could be thoroughly reviewed, that “[t]he gravity of the allegations requires that we deliberate with utmost seriousness and give due consideration to the evidence presented,” that the SPC would meet again on June 7, 2010, and that it was her hope that a final decision could be reached at that time. Appellant’s Appendix at 134.

Between May 17, 2010, and June 7, 2010, a seven-person subcommittee of the SPC [314]*314continued to evaluate Amaya’s information. Amaya, 981 N.E.2d at 1237. The subcommittee directed additional written questions to Dr. DiMicco, Dr. Hilgarth, and Dr. Prag, the subcommittee sent the written responses of the professors to Amaya on June 1, 2010, and Amaya was permitted to reply to the SPC with his own written responses to their comments. Id. In addition, the subcommittee conducted field tests, which consisted of members going to the testing location and sitting in Amaya’s seat while other members observed the difference between glances up at the clock and glances to a neighbor’s paper. Id. The field tests revealed that the professors could easily distinguish between glances up at the clock and glances down and to the right. Id. On June 7, 2010, the SPC held a meeting and discussed the evidence presented by Amaya at the May 17, 2010 hearing.

On June 9, 2010, Dr. Treadwell sent a letter on behalf of the SPC to Amaya stating that the SPC met on June 7, 2010 to discuss the evidence Amaya presented, that since the May 17, 2010 hearing a seven-person subcommittee, chaired by Dr. Treadwell, carefully evaluated Amaya’s written documentation, and that the SPC discussed Amaya’s case at length and weighed the eyewitness accounts of Dr. DiMicco, Dr. Hilgarth, and Dr. Prag versus the innocuous explanation Amaya presented in his documentation. The letter advised that the SPC did not find Amaya’s arguments to be compelling and believed the preponderance of evidence supports the charge of ethical misconduct during the mini-block exam on March 29, 2010, that accordingly the SPC voted to recommend to the Dean that Amaya be dismissed from IUSM, that the vote was ten for dismissal, three against, and three abstentions, and that the decision was not reached lightly but with due deliberation commensurate with the gravity of the allegations and the consequences of an adverse vote. The letter further stated that “[f]ield tests conducted by subcommittee members from the individuals sitting in [Amaya’s] seat revealed that proctors can easily distinguish between glances up at the clock and glances down and to the right,” that the SPC “considers it highly unlikely that all three proctors could have been mistaken in their interpretation of [Amaya’s] behavior,” and that the testing “revealed that someone sitting in [Ama-ya’s] seat making sidelong glances to the right can see the bubble sheet (or circled answers on the exam) of someone sitting two chairs to the right.” Appellant’s Appendix at 146. The letter went on to say that “[t]his is sufficient to identify the selected answers,” that “[t]he primary evidence against [Amaya] is the eyewitness accounts,” that “[t]he statistical evidence is secondary but supports the eyewitness accounts,” that Amaya’s “statistical consultants’ calculations about the likelihood of two exams having the same degree of answer concordance as observed in your case assumes no other factors other than chance,” and that Amaya’s “observed behavior must be taken into account, which makes it much more likely that cheating explains the degree of concordance.” Id. at 146-147. The letter also advised Ama-ya that he may request a reconsideration hearing.

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Amaya v. Brater, 993 N.E.2d 311, 2013 WL 4714272, 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 420 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013).

993 N.E.2d 311 (Amaya v. Brater) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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