Expelled West Point Cadet Must Pay $227,000 in Education Costs

A West Point student lost his appeal challenging his expulsion from the military academy and education benefits repayment requirement of $226,662, after the Second Circuit affirmed Tuesday that the school’s procedures complied with due process.

Isiah Doolen, the former West Point student, accumulated excessive infractions, including smuggling alcohol. The school commenced a year-and-a-half long process of reviews, hearings, and an investigation regarding Doolen’s conduct at the academy.

He drunkenly confronted his ex-girlfriend, was suspended for prior infractions, was arrested for driving under the influence during his suspension, and then allowed back to the academy amid this conduct review process, according to the opinion.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army approved the recommendation to separate Doolen from the academy in October of 2015, and he was ordered to pay $226,662 to the U.S. government in education costs.

West Point attendance is free, so students must repay the cost of their education if they don’t complete the program or an active duty period.

The student appealed his punishment on grounds that West Point’s cadet removal procedures violate due process.

He also alleged that the school violated its own mandatory regulations by failing to provide him with the legal review of his conduct before his case file was forwarded to higher command, which resulted in bias against him. He additionally claimed that West Point inaccurately reviewed evidence in its investigation.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the school’s procedures meet due process by acutely balancing Doolen’s private interests and the “uniquely important standards of conduct and discipline” in the army. These procedures differ from those in the 1970s, which the court’s prior case law handled differently.

The court noted that by the time the school considers separation from the academy, the cadet has already appeared in person before an investigating officer, presented live testimony, and cross-examined witnesses at the conduct investigation under current standards.

All cadets facing separation are also allowed post-deprivation procedures, including appeal of the decision to the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records, according to the opinion. The court rejected Doolen’s claim that this board is biased because it’s appointed by the Secretary of the Army, because most of the agency officials are appointed by the agency itself.

The appeals court agreed that Doolen was deprived of the opportunity to receive his legal review, which included contested details about domestic violence, illicit drug use, and the DUI charge. Doolen’s inability to comment on the legal review didn’t prejudice him, because these details were presented as allegations rather than fact.

Doolen’s failure to report the arrest after he returned to the academy following his suspension drove the superintendent’s decision to approve his removal, according to the opinion by Judge Rosemary S. Pooler.

Judge William J. Nardini and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, sitting by designation from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, joined the opinion.

Doolen is represented by Stewart Occhipinti LLP. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Lieutenant General Darryl A. Williams, the superintendent, are represented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The case is Doolen v. Wormuth, 2d Cir., No. 18-2996, 7/20/21.