Mark R. Zimmerman of Torrington, Conn. claims in a lawsuit filed at New Hampshire U.S. district court that the college's Committee on Standing and Conduct denied him a fair hearing.

The committee, which has since been renamed the Committee on Standards, consists of the dean of the college, the dean of freshmen, four students and four faculty members.

The lawsuit states that the university did not give Zimmerman adequate time to prepare his defense, and refused to hear an appeal despite "newly discovered evidence" and "myriad procedural defects" at the hearing, according to a court spokesman.

Neihter Zimmerman nor his attorney, Charles B. Doleac of Portsmouth, N.H., could be reached for comment.

The lawsuit also charges that the committee violated Zimmerman's rights "by refusing his request to have a lawyer represent him at the hearing, by falling to replace an absent member of the committee and by considering member of the considering evidence not presented at the hearing."

Tom Csatari, Dartmouth's assistant college counsel, refused to comment on the suit, saying the college "had an obligation to the student and itself not to reveal any information."