Two lawyers, two somewhat different opinions.
http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/suing-university-for-false-accusation-of-cheating--1141247.html
Our whole system is based on innocent until proven guilty. Now private schools just like employers can say that can bypass that; but the reason they often get away with not having to fully follow that is that they have more money and power than most students/employees.
Some of the push for legal reforms are interesting to me, b/c people say everyone is sue happy. LOL. Pursuing legal action is entirely expensive for most people. It's incredibly exhausting and stressful to the point of putting some folks in the hospital. Final legal processes are often quite lengthy. It can be torment waiting to fully carry on with one's life while waiting to hopefully win--while also not going broke. This is why these things often go along w/o fair remedy and resolution.
And really being completely innocent and knowing that such false accusations can permanently impair your ability to move forward it is the ONLY reason to obtain the right, smart, motivated, experienced, and committed attorney. Finding that alone may indeed be challenging enough.
If you are sure (by sure I mean such that you know you aren't talking yourself into believing you are sure) that you are truly innocent of academic dishonesty and that their evidence and actions against you are unjust--and if you want to be able to honestly answer questions for AMCAS that should not in anyway incriminate you for something which you have not done, then you need the right lawyer, and it is going to be COSTLY, STRESSFUL, and TIME-CONSUMING.
It would indeed seem that Lizzy's statement is the biggest obstacle right now; but it is true that you have to follow the academic policy at the particular institution according to their timetable for appeal. If you miss a step, that makes any further action may take even harder.
There is an absolute reason why there are indeed legal remedies for false accusations, etc. Sure, they can vary my state, but I absolutely trust some highly respected lawyers on certain issues of expungement.
I do tire of the statements or implications that they cannot stand. There is absolutely no reason to kill someone's aspirations and handwork or even livelihood simply b/c of false allegations. No school or system should have the right to violate people's rights in this respect. There are plenty of people with serious issues that cannot be expunged or files closed or such.
I would caution schools, proctors, TAs, professors, etc to be very careful about charges against someone that can ruin their academic and professional career. If they aren't untrue and unjust, indeed, they should have to deal with even civil actions, if necessary.
For God's sake. Separate the students with enough space or split the classes up and use different tests.