INVESTIGATION, HEARING, AND APPEAL PROCEDURE

Article I. Investigations 

1. The purpose of an investigation is threefold: 

a. to make the accusation known to the accused; 

b. to review the position of the accused under the Honor System; and

c. to determine whether or not enough evidence is available to decide at a hearing if a violation has or has not occured. 

2. On receipt of an accusation, the Chair shall appoint an Investigating Committee as specified in Article XI of the Constitution. The Chair shall also assign one or more Investigators to the case. 

3. The Investigator will be a member of the Council whose purpose is to find all pertinent evidence for a particular case, both evidence supporting and refuting the accusation. 

a. The Honor Council will train members to be Investigators. Any trained member may serve as an Investigator. 

b. The Investigator will be present but will not vote at the investigation. The Investigator can only serve as a witness at the hearing for which he or she is an investigator. 

4. The Investigating Committee must: 

a. Present and read an unsigned copy of the accusation to the accused. 

b. Give the accused a copy of The Honor System booklet. 

c. Inform the accused of his or her rights and responsibilities under the Honor System listed in Article II, Section 8 of the Procedures. 

d. Advise and discuss with the accused his rights and alternatives under the workings of the Honor System. 

e. Inform the accused that any verbal statements made to the Investigating Committee will not be used against him or her at a hearing. 

f. Request a written statement from the accused which represents the accused's account of the events in the accusation. This statement, signed by the accused and the Ombuds, will henceforth be considered as evidence. In the absence of a written statement by the accused, the Investigating Committee will advance the case to a hearing. 

g. Inform the accused that a second investigative meeting is an option if readily available evidence could make a significant difference in the outcome of the investigation. The decision to hold this meeting rests with the Investigating Committee. 

5. Rules on evidence are as follows: 

a. Depositions of relevant parties to the accusation may be taken before or after the Investigation. Such depositions will be taken by the Investigator, with the approval of the Ombuds. These depositions will be considered evidence if and only if approved by the Ombuds, the Investigator, and the deposed. 

b. The accused shall have access to all evidence in the Honor Council's possession. The accused may make and keep notes, which are not facsimiles, of the evidence. An Ombuds shall be present whenever the accused reviews evidence. 

c. Until the hearing if such occurs, the identity of the accuser shall be withheld. The identity of other parties shall be withheld at the discretion of the Chair. 

d. An Ombuds shall be present whenever pertinent evidence or testimony regarding a specific case is presented to the Investigating Committee. 

6. Failure of the Investigating Committee to properly perform its duties under Sections 4 and 5 above may be considered a violation of procedural due process and may be considered grounds for appeal. 

7. The members of the Investigating Committee shall not discuss the investigation with any other members of the Honor Council. 

8. If the Investigating Committee deems a hearing necessary, the Chair shall set the time and place of the hearing. 

Article II. Hearings 

1. The hearing shall be conducted in such a manner that the facts of the case may be ascertained and a just decision reached, but shall at no time violate the rights of the accused nor the integrity of the Honor Council and the Student Body. The Honor Council must recognize its unique position in which it is called upon to investigate the case and act as prosecution, defense, judge and jury. 

a. Names of all persons involved, and other pertinent data shall be kept secret by the Honor Council. 

b. A record shall be kept of the hearing. All testimony and evidence must be presented in the presence of the accused. 

2. A quorum of nine Council members shall be necessary to conduct a hearing. Additionally, up to five new members with a non-binding vote may be present for training purposes. 

3. A Council member present shall be appointed to act as a Clerk for each hearing. 

a. The Honor Council will train members to be Clerks. Any trained member may serve as a Clerk. 

b. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to administer the oath to witnesses, to prepare an abstract of the hearing, and to perform other such duties as described in the Hearing Procedure. 

4. Order of Hearing Procedures 

a. The Honor Council convenes; the accused is brought before the Council and introduced to each member of the Council. 

b. The matriculation pledge and rights of the accused are read by the Clerk. 

c. The position of the accused under the Honor System is reviewed with him. 

d. A signed copy of the accusation is read and presented to the accused. All evidence will be presented to the accused, with identities disclosed. 

e. The accused shall enter a plea of "In Violation" or "Not In Violation". 

5. Evidence in the hands of the Council, other than testimony, shall be submitted first. 

6. The Council shall discuss the hearing after initial testimony and plan a logical development of the case. 

7. Witnesses 

a. A witness may be called by the Council or the accused. 

b. The witness is to be brought in by the Clerk and sworn in as follows: "I, . . ., will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and I will maintain secrecy about this hearing and the persons involved." 

c. The Council questions the witness; the accused may question the witness. 

d. The witnesses are to be excused, but are subject to recall at any time during the hearing. 

8. Rights of the Accused. 

a. The accused may testify, present evidence, or make no statement. 

b. The accused shall have the right to bring forth any evidence or testimony. 

c. The accused shall have the right to review and dispute any evidence or testimony. 

d. The Council may consider no character testimony either for or against the accused. 

e. The accused shall have the right to sum up the case before the Council decides the verdict. 

f. The accused shall maintain the secrecy of the identity of the persons involved in the case other than himself or herself. 

9. Decision 

After all evidence and testimony have been received, the Council shall reach a decision. Council members will vote on whether or not there is clear and convincing evidence that the accused is "In Violation." The Council presumes the accused is "Not In Violation" until such time as a unanimous vote of all nine members should find the accused to be "In Violation." The penalty deliberation phase will immediately follow a unanimous verdict of "In Violation". Two-thirds of the voting Council members present must concur on a binding penalty decision. The Council should strive to reach unanimity in its penalty decision. 

10. The Council shall immediately submit its decision and an abstract of the hearing to the Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs. Upon approval by the Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs, the sentence shall be carried into effect by the University. The University will be requested not to use any information gained through the Honor Council against any person and to respect the right of secrecy concerning all persons involved. 

11. Public Notice of the fact of a case and the verdict shall be given upon completion of the case. The name of the accused shall not be published. 

12. Records 

a. A complete record of hearings shall be kept. All material evidence shall be filed with this record. In the year following the one in which the hearing took place this record shall be open only to the President, the Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs and the Chair of the Honor Council. 

b. An abstract of the hearing shall be prepared immediately upon the completion of the hearing with the recommended penalty attached. Two copies shall go to the Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs, one to be forwarded to the Dean of Undergraduate Affairs. One copy shall be made using no names and shall be placed in a suitable file by the Honor Council. This latter file shall be open only to members of that Council and of succeeding Councils. One abstract without names of all hearings shall be available at the Reserve Room of the Library for the duration of the academic year in which the action was taken, thereafter to be stored in the Woodson Research Center for five years. 

Article III. Appeals

1. Upon receiving the intent to appeal, the Presiding Chair will have five (5) business days to gather the following materials and make them available to the Appellant through the Office of Student Judicial Programs:

a. The statement(s) of accusation

b. All material evidence

c. The recordings of the testimony phase of the hearing

d. The abstract of the hearing

The Ombuds for the case will submit a statement regarding any concerns about procedural matters, or lack thereof, directly to the Office of Student Judicial Programs.

2. The Appellant will have five (5) business days from the day the required information specified in Section 1 is presented to the Office of Student Judicial Programs to submit a written statement to the Appeals Panel that explains his/her grounds for appeal.

3. After the written statement explaining the grounds for appeal has been submitted to the Office of Student Judicial Programs, the Presiding Chair will then have five (5) business days to write their own statement defending the Council's decision.

4. The Presiding Chair will present the information specified in Sections 1 and 3 plus a recording of the deliberation phase of the hearing to the Appeals Panel for consideration.  At the request of the accused, any information that may identify said accused shall be removed before being submitted to the faculty members on the Appeals Panel.

5. The Appeals Panel will have 60 class days to hear the appeal.  Any appeals decision shall be agreed upon by a majority of the Appeals Panel. In reaching a decision on the appeal, the Appeals Panel is limited to the consideration of the grounds for appeal stated in Article XVIII, Section 2 of the Constitution.

6. The Appeals Panel will have the power to uphold or reverse the Council's decision, lessen, but not increase the penalty, and dismiss the case on the grounds of defective deliberation or procedural error.

7. The Appellant may appeal the panel's majority decision to the President of the University in the form of a written statement within five business days of notification of the Appeals Panel's decision.

8. The Appeals Panel will present the appeal materials to the President of the University for consideration in addition to a summary of decisive factors from the first appeal.  This should take place within 10 business days of the second intent to appeal.

9. The President shall then have 60 business days to make a final decision regarding the appeal.  In reaching a decision on the appeal, the President is limited to the consideration of the grounds for appeal stated in Article XVIII, Section 2 of the Constitution.

10. The President of the University will have the power to uphold or reverse the Council's decision, lessen, but not increase the penalty, and dismiss the case on the grounds of defective deliberation or procedural error.

11. When an appeal decision is made by either the Appeals Panel or by the President of the University, an abstract shall be written detailing the reasons for the decision.  The abstract shall be made public according to Article II, Section 12b of the Procedures.

Article IV. 

The Investigation, Hearing and Appeal Procedure may be amended by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Honor Council at any time with the subsequent approval of the Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs.

Last modified Saturday, October 28, 2006 7:24 PM
Reach the Honor Council at honor@rice.edu