A criminal charge or university conduct complaint can threaten your future, but you do not have to face it alone.
Read this before you speak to anyone else.
If you attend Penn State, Lock Haven University, or any other college in Central Pennsylvania and you are now facing criminal charges, you are probably scared, and that reaction makes sense. You are worried about your parents finding out, your friends’ reactions, and whether this follows you for the rest of your life. That worry is understandable, and it is also why acting quickly and carefully matters so much right now.
As a criminal defense attorney who has represented students throughout State College, Bellefonte, Altoona, Lewistown, and Lock Haven, I have seen how quickly a single night can turn into a legal and academic crisis. A conviction can jeopardize your enrollment, your housing, your scholarships, and job offers you have not even received yet.
This is why I take these cases personally. As your student misconduct attorney and student criminal defense attorney, my job is to protect your record and your future at the same time, not one at the expense of the other.
Many students assume that pleading guilty and paying a fine is the easy way out. In reality, a conviction, even for a minor offense, can create consequences that outlast the semester it happened in.
At the same time, most students facing criminal charges will also face a separate university disciplinary hearing, and the two proceedings do not operate the same way. As your university disciplinary attorney, I help you understand how each one works before you say a word to anyone.
I built my practice around a simple principle: students deserve an experienced criminal defense attorney who understands both the courtroom and the campus. That means preparing every case as if it will go to trial, while also coaching students through the separate reality of a student disciplinary hearing attorney’s role, which is often limited by university rules that prohibit lawyers from directly representing students in those hearings.
Because many colleges will not allow me to speak on your behalf during a disciplinary proceeding, I focus on preparing you in advance. That includes reviewing what you can and cannot say, explaining your right to remain silent, and making sure you understand how any statement could affect a pending criminal case.
On the criminal side, I handle everything from preliminary hearings through appeals, negotiate for ARD or diversion where appropriate, and fight to keep charges off your permanent record whenever possible. You get the same courtroom preparation I bring to felony defense and serious criminal trials, applied to your specific situation as a student.
Families across Central Pennsylvania come to Masorti Law Group PC because they want a defense attorney who treats their student’s future as seriously as they do. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Students in State College, Altoona, and surrounding communities often ask the same questions when charges first surface. Here are honest answers to the ones that matter most.
Should I talk to campus police or a resident assistant before calling a lawyer?
Can you represent me directly in my university disciplinary hearing?
Will a criminal charge automatically show up on my academic record?
What happens if I already made a statement before calling you?
If you are a student facing criminal charges or a disciplinary complaint anywhere in Central Pennsylvania, the decisions you make in the next 24 hours matter. Call before you speak to police, a resident assistant, or a conduct board, and let’s protect your record and your future together.
