VI. STUDENT HONOR CODE

PART VIADJUDICATION OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS



Sec. 6-1Presiding Officer at Hearing. The Chairperson of the Honor Council will appoint a member of the Honor Council who is not also a member of the Hearing Panel to serve as the Presiding Officer of the hearing. The Presiding Officer presides over the hearing but may not participate in the deliberations of the Hearing Panel.

Sec. 6-2Timely Adjudication. The Respondent shall have the right to a timely adjudication. A timely adjudication means that proceedings before the Hearing Panel shall commence with due speed to ensure a fair hearing. Although examination periods, holidays, vacation periods, and breaks between semesters may impact the scheduling of any adjudicative stage, the guidelines for timely adjudication are:

(1) the Respondent should be served with the Report within twenty-four hours after a probable cause determination is made;

(2) the hearing should commence within fifteen calendar days after the Respondent receives the written Report, and

(3) the hearing should be completed as quickly as possible in order to achieve a fair and just result.

Sec. 6-3Rights of the Complainant.

(1) After a Hearing Panel has been convened, the Respondent, the Prosecutor, the Honor Council and the Hearing Panel are entitled to know the identity of the Complainant unless the Honor Council orders special measures to preserve the anonymity of the Complainant;

(2) Except as provided in Section 6-3(1), the Complainant may require that he or she not be identified by name in any written or oral communication associated with the proceeding, but be designated as “the Complainant”;

(3) Subject to Respondent’s right to cross-examine witnesses, the Complainant may require that any testimony he or she gives be heard in a closed hearing, even if the proceedings are otherwise held publicly at the election of the Respondent, pursuant to Section 6-4 below.

Sec. 6-4Rights of the Respondent. The Respondent shall have the following rights:

(1) to be notified within a reasonable time before the hearing of the name of each witness to be called by the Prosecutor, and the substance of that witness’s expected testimony;

(2) to call witnesses, present evidence, and examine and cross-examine all witnesses;

(3) to make and submit a written statement in addition to or in lieu of oral testimony;

(4) to be advised and represented by counsel at his or her own expense, or by any other representative; and

(5) except as limited by the Complainant under Section 6-3(3), to have all proceedings against him or her held publicly or privately at his or her election.

Sec. 6-5Admission of Evidence. State and Federal Rules of Evidence shall not be applicable in determining questions of evidence. All relevant evidence shall be admissible, but the Presiding Officer has the discretion to exclude evidence that is irrelevant, unreliable, or duplicative, or that a party failed to disclose in accordance with Section 6-6(1). The Presiding Officer’s decision to admit or exclude evidence is final and un-reviewable.

Sec. 6-6Hearing Procedure:

(1) At least five days prior to the hearing, the Prosecutor and the Respondent shall place all documents and other material to be introduced into evidence in a folder in the Dean’s office. The exhibits shall be labeled and indexed by the Presiding Officer. These exhibits shall be copied and distributed by the Presiding Officer to the Hearing Panel, the Prosecutor, and the Respondent no later than 48 hours prior to the hearing. Any exhibits introduced at the hearing that were not placed in the Dean’s office may be allowed into evidence, as justice requires. All objections will be ruled on by the Presiding Officer at the hearing when the exhibits are offered as evidence.

(2) The Prosecutor may call witnesses, except the Respondent may not be called over his or her objection. The Respondent shall have the right to testify on his or her own behalf and to call witnesses. All testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation. The Respondent and any witness may refuse to testify only as provided under Section 2-1(18).

(3) The Presiding Officer shall begin the hearing by reading a summary of the allegations from the Complaint and asking the Respondent to admit or deny the charges.

(4) The Prosecutor may make an opening statement, followed by the Respondent.

(5) At any time during the hearing, members of the Hearing Panel may ask questions. The Hearing Panel members may examine exhibits as they are allowed into evidence, and during deliberations.

(6) The Prosecutor must prove the allegations by clear and convincing evidence through the use of witnesses and other forms of evidence. The Respondent may assert evidentiary objections to documents and other materials as they are offered into evidence and may question all witnesses.

(7) When the Prosecutor has finished presenting evidence, the Respondent may present his or her defense through witnesses and other forms of evidence. The Prosecutor may assert objections to testimony and evidentiary objections to documents and other materials as they are offered into evidence and may question all witnesses.

(8) At the conclusion of the Respondent’s evidence, the Prosecutor may present rebuttal evidence. The Respondent may assert evidentiary objections to documents and other materials as they are offered into evidence and may question any witnesses presented in rebuttal.

(9) Following the rebuttal, the Presiding Officer shall instruct the Hearing Panel that any member of the Hearing Panel may recall witnesses for further testimony.

(10) Following the rebuttal and further testimony by witnesses at the request of Hearing Panel members, the Prosecutor may make closing arguments including his or her recommendation for a finding of one or more violations and sanctions. The Respondent may then make closing arguments.

(11) All proceedings before the Hearing Panel shall be recorded in an audio file. The deliberations of the Hearing Panel will not be recorded. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Presiding Officer shall make a copy of the audio file to preserve the record for appellate review.

Sec. 6-7Deliberations. Only the Hearing Panel members shall be present during deliberations, at which time the Hearing Panel may review any evidence and any record made of the hearing. The Presiding Officer, Prosecutor, Respondent, Complainant, and witnesses are prohibited from having any contact relating in any way to the complaint at issue with the Hearing Panel during its deliberations or at any time other than during the hearing or in open court with parties to the suit present.

Sec. 6-8Finding of Violation. No student shall be found to have violated the Honor Code unless four of the five members of the Hearing Panel agree that the Prosecutor has proven by clear and convincing evidence that a violation has been committed. Should the Hearing Panel be unable to reach a decision that a violation has occurred, the charge shall be dismissed.

Sec. 6-9Hearing Decision. Upon making a finding of a violation, the Hearing Panel shall prepare and submit a report to the Dean and the Honor Council setting forth a summary of the testimony, findings of fact, and conclusions. If a member of the Hearing Panel did not agree with the finding of a violation, he or she may submit as part of the report his or her dissent.

Sec. 6-10Hearing Decision History. The Hearing Panel shall prepare and submit to the Dean the same report as required by Section 6-9, with the exception that all personal information, such as Respondent’s name, be removed from the report. These reports shall be kept in a file with the Dean and shall be available for future Honor Councils to review during their terms of service.

Sec. 6-11Power to Impose Sanctions. Except as provided below, and subject to the appellate procedures in Section 6-13, the Hearing Panel has the power to impose any sanction or sanctions listed in Section 6-12. At least three members of the Hearing Panel must agree on any sanction to be imposed. The sanctions of expulsion from the Law School and withdrawal of a granted degree may not be imposed without unanimous agreement of all five members and approval of the Dean.

Sec. 6-12Sanctions. Sanctions that may be imposed shall include the following:

(1) expulsion;

(2) suspension from the Law School for a specified time, or until the Dean revokes the suspension;

(3) probation for a specified time, which shall include removal from, and denial of eligibility for all offices or positions in the SBA, University student government, student law fraternities or sororities, law reviews, Moot Court, or similar Law School, University, and student organizations or activities, and which may include any other conditions imposed by the Dean;

(4) withdrawal of a granted degree, in the event that a final determination that this Code was violated is not made until after the degree has been awarded;

(5) loss of Law School or University services or privileges, such as the use of the Career Services Office or Law School or University computer facilities, for a specified period of time, so far as consistent with the nature of the violation;

(6) restitution to the University, organization, or person of the property, or the monetary value of the property taken, misappropriated, damaged, destroyed, or otherwise interfered with;

(7) letter of reprimand to be kept on a non-confidential basis in the student's file;

(8) any other sanction deemed appropriate, except that the Hearing Panel and Honor Council may not interfere with a professor’s authority to determine the appropriate grade for a student in his or her class;

(9) any combination of the sanctions listed above.

Sec. 6-13Appeals. The Presiding Officer shall notify the Respondent within 24 hours after the Hearing Panel decides whether a violation has occurred. If a violation is found, the Respondent has the right to appeal that finding. If the Respondent decides to appeal that decision, the Respondent shall file an appeal with the Chairperson. The Prosecutor may not appeal a decision in favor of the Respondent. All appeals shall be processed in accordance with the following procedures.

(1) Within 72 hours after being notified of the Hearing Panel’s decision, the Respondent shall file a written notice of appeal with the Chairperson. The notice of appeal shall provide a concise statement of the grounds for the appeal.

All appeals shall be decided by the full Honor Council, excluding the members selected as Prosecutor and Presiding Officer pursuant to Sections 5-7 and 6-1, respectively, and any member who has been recused or excluded pursuant to Section 3-7.

(3) The Honor Council shall review the record of the hearing before the Hearing Panel by reading the written documentation and listening to the audio recording. No new evidence may be presented during the appeal. Oral argument shall not be permitted.

(4) The Honor Council shall affirm the Hearing Panel’s decision that a violation occurred, unless a majority of the Council members present and voting agree that the decision is not supported by substantial evidence.

(5) The Honor Council shall have the power to reduce a sanction imposed by the Hearing Panel if a majority of the Council members present and voting agree that the sanction is unduly harsh given the nature of the violation.

(6) The Honor Council shall reach a final decision on the appeal, if at all possible, within ten calendar days after the Respondent files the appeal.

Sec. 6-14Publicizing Violations. After a sanction has been imposed, the Honor Council shall have the power to publicize the fact that a violation occurred, including the nature of the sanction imposed, but the Honor Council shall not reveal the name of the Respondent without his or her consent. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, all records of the proceedings shall remain confidential in accordance with Sections 6-10 and 7-3.

Sec. 6-15Reopening of Hearing to Consider New Evidence. If a violation has been found, the case may be reopened upon production of new evidence bearing directly upon the innocence of the Respondent. No hearing shall be reopened unless a majority of the Honor Council agrees that the interests of justice require a new hearing. A person seeking to reopen a hearing upon the ground of newly discovered evidence shall appear before the Honor Council and state the nature of the evidence relied upon. If a case is reopened, it shall be left to the discretion of the Honor Council to determine whether the charges should be retried completely or whether the new evidence alone should be considered in connection with the old record.