Honor Code

CHAPTER FIVE: PROCEDURE FOR HONOR PROCEEDINGS

5.1 — Reporting Procedure:

Any person affiliated with the law school may report a violation by submitting a memorandum to the Honor Code Administrator who shall be designated by the Dean. The written report shall include:

(1) the name of the Accuser; (2) the name of the Accused Student; (3) the alleged violation; (4) the date of the alleged violation (if known); and (5) all facts relevant to the alleged violation, including the name of any person who may know of relevant facts.

5.2 — Preliminary Meeting:

  1. The Honor Code Administrator shall meet with an Accused Student or a Student Making a Conscientious Admission as soon as practicable after receiving a report of an alleged violation.
  2. The Accused Student or Student Making a Conscientious Admission and the Honor Code Administrator may resolve the matter by written agreement at any time. Any agreement resulting in the sanction of suspension or expulsion must be approved by the Dean.
  3. If no agreement is reached, the Honor Code Administrator, in consultation with the Honor Committee Chair, shall determine whether probable cause exists to believe the Honor Code has been violated. If so, a Hearing shall be convened. If not, the case shall be dismissed.
  4. Notwithstanding Section 5.2.C, a Student Making a Conscientious Admission who does not reach an agreement with the Honor Code Administrator may waive a finding of probable cause, admit to the violation(s), and proceed to Hearing on the issue of sanctions only.

5.3 — Hearing Board:

  1. Upon a finding of probable cause, the Chair shall appoint members of the Hearing Board, schedule the time and place of a Hearing Board proceeding, and notify the Accuser, the Accused Student, and any witnesses to be called. The purpose of the proceeding shall be to determine whether the Accused Student has committed the charged violation of the Honor Code and, if so, to determine the appropriate sanction.
  2. The Hearing Board shall consist of five Honor Committee members, three student members and two faculty members, appointed by the Chair. The Honor Code Administrator and Chair shall not serve on a Hearing Board.
  3. The Chair shall select one of the faculty members to be President of the Hearing Board.
  4. The Honor Code Administrator, or the Dean’s designee, shall serve as the Presenter and present the case against the Accused Student.

5.4 — Pre-Hearing Procedure:

  1. Prior to the hearing, the Presenter shall distribute the complaint and any other relevant information to the members of the Hearing Board.
  2. The Presenter and the Accused Student must provide the President of the Hearing Board with a list of all witnesses that they intend to question at the Hearing.
  3. The Presenter and the Accused Student must arrange for their witnesses to testify at the Hearing; the Honor Committee shall provide reasonable assistance.

5.5 — Conduct of the Hearing:

  1. Unless the Hearing is open, only persons involved in the Honor Proceeding may attend.
  2. The Honor Code Administrator or the Dean’s designee shall present the case against the Accused Student, including an opportunity for rebuttal.
  3. The Accused Student may present his/her case.
  4. Witnesses shall be called individually and subject to examination, cross examination and redirect examination by the parties. Hearing Board members may question witnesses.
  5. The President of the Hearing Board shall arrange for testimony to be electronically preserved.
  6. The President of the Hearing Board shall have the power to rule on procedural matters.
  7. At the conclusion of testimony, the Hearing Board shall deliberate privately. The Hearing Board may reconvene, together with the parties, to ask additional questions or reexamine witnesses. Only the Hearing Board may recall witnesses. The Hearing Board shall vote upon the factual elements that are essential to a finding of whether the Accused Student violated the Honor Code. A violation is established only if at least four of the five members of the Hearing Board so find.
  8. If the Hearing Board does not find that a violation of the Honor Code has occurred, it shall dismiss the charges and immediately notify the Accused Student.
  9. If the Hearing Board finds that a violation of the Honor Code has occurred, it shall immediately notify the parties, who shall then be afforded the opportunity to address the issue of the appropriate sanction(s). At the conclusion of this presentation, the Hearing Board shall determine what sanction(s) to impose in accordance with Chapter 6.
  10. The Hearing Board shall reconvene for the imposition of the sanction(s).
  11. An Honor Case shall be closed when no violation of the Honor Code was found to have occurred; a violation was found to have occurred, and no appeal is requested; the appeal is terminated. Imposition of any sanction(s) shall commence once the case is closed.

5.6 — Rules of Evidence:

  1. The President of the Hearing Board shall rule on the admissibility of evidence based on relevance and fairness; the Hearing Board shall not be bound by formal rules of evidence.
  2. The Hearing Board may draw an adverse inference against an Accused Student who, upon request, fails or refuses to produce relevant real evidence in his/her possession or control.
  3. The Hearing Board may draw an adverse inference against the Accused Student for remaining silent during any stage only in determining the appropriate sanction(s) after finding a violation.

5.7 — Burden of Persuasion:

The Presenter must prove the facts of the case by clear and convincing evidence. In order to find the Accused Student guilty of an Honor Code Violation, four of the five members of the Hearing Board must be persuaded that (1) the Presenter proved the alleged facts and (2) the conduct proved by the Presenter violates the Honor Code. Following a determination of guilt, the Hearing Board may impose sanctions. Four of the five members of the Hearing Board must approve sanctions that are imposed. When the Hearing Board imposes a sanction of suspension or expulsion, however, all members of the Hearing Board must agree.

 

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Revision, Effective April 23, 2024