XVIII: Appeals: Difference between revisions

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(Created AdCom Appeals Screening Committee, and related changes [Board Approved 10/27/12])
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A. The member advocate will let the individual member know of their rights of appeal.
A. The policy in this section applies to decisions that were made by the AdHoc Committee, the Conduct Committee (ConCom), the Clear and Present Danger Committee, the Central Level PNG Review Committee, or by staff with regard to BSC member conduct related matters.


B. Decisions of the Administrative Committee on specific cases — as opposed to general policy issues — may be considered by the Cabinet only if brought to the Cabinet under one of the following conditions:
B. The Appeals Committee for a conduct-related issue shall consist of:
:1. Cases involving termination of a member for any cause other than ineligibility for membership or nonpayment of regular charges may be appealed directly to the Cabinet by the affected member.
:a. The Conduct Member Advisor not participating in the initial conduct decision
:2. Any other case may be appealed for procedural errors or gross misapplication of the AdCode, or relevant information that could not be presented at the time of the original hearing. A staff member must inform the member that an appeal is being considered. A house may appeal only if AdCom’s decision holds it responsible for charges other than the loss of decentralization funds due to member cancellation, or if a house fine or charge is reduced or overruled. The house’s appeal must be based on procedural irregularities.
:b. The Conduct Committee Chair not participating in the initial conduct decision
:c. The Cooperative Experience Manager or the Executive Director’s designee, as long as they did not participate in the initial conduct decision
:d. The Vice President of Experience and Training (VPET) or another Board Director of their choice (a non-voting member)


C. The Appeals Committee for an administrative-related issue shall consist of:
:a The Vice President of Internal Affairs, or the President’s designee in extenuating circumstances in which the VPIA is unavailable
:b Two other Board Directors (Board will elect and maintain a pool of at least five Board Directors to serve in this capacity at the start of each semester; Cabinet/Summer Committee members may serve until then)


C. The AdCom Appeals Screening Committee (ACASC) shall be composed of the AdCom Chair, the VPO, the ED, and the Member Advocate.
D. The Appeals Committee will first ensure that all appeals conform to the following criteria, before proceeding with adjudication:
:1. The AdCom Chair, VPO, and ED are the voting members.
:2. The Member Advocate is a non-voting member.
:3.  The ACASC shall act by majority vote.


:a. The member(s) who initially brought the case - complainants(s) - and the respondent may appeal the outcome


:b. All appeals must be filed no later than five (5) business days after the date the appellant was notified of the decision.


D. Cases not exempted by Section XVIII.B.1 shall be considered by the ACASC. When considering appeals of AdCom decisions, the ACASC shall proceed as follows:
:c. The appellant must submit a document outlining the reasons for their appeal and the decision that they wish the Appeals Committee to take.
:1. The Member Advocate, a representative of the house, or the staff member shall present their reasons for requesting an appeal.
:2. The AdCom Chair shall present her/his reasons for believing AdCom’s decision to be procedurally sound.
:3. The presentations shall be allowed an equal amount of time, determined in advance.
:4. The ACASC shall then consider the appeal. Unless consideration is extended, consideration shall be limited to five minutes.
:5. The ACASC shall then vote on the disposition of the case. A simple majority shall be required for the Cabinet to hear the case.


E. If any one of the parties listed in Section XVIII.B.1. wishes to appeal a specific decision of the Administrative Committee, s/he must file a written request, specifying the reasons for the appeal, and the action desired, with the Chair of the Administrative Committee within five (5) working days of the committee’s decision. The staff representative or Administrative Committee Chair must additionally announce to the Administrative Committee immediately after it has made a decision their intention to possibly appeal the decision, in order to retain their right of appeal. Failure to submit the request within this deadline, unless an extension has been granted (below) shall result in the forfeiture of the right to appeal the Committee’s decision.
:d. Appeals may be made for the following reasons:
:1. If one of the parties to the decision must be notified by US mail, s/he shall have fifteen (15) days after the mailing of notification in which to mail or file the written request for appeal.
::i. New evidence that could not be presented at the time of the original meeting.
:2. Once the Administrative Committee Chair has received the written request for appeal and ACASC agrees that the appeal meets the guidelines in section XVIII.B, s/he shall prepare a written report for the Cabinet, which shall be distributed at the Cabinet meeting. This report shall include:
::ii. Procedural error that unfairly and materially affected the outcome of the case.
::a. A complete summary of the case, and the action taken by the Committee, along with the reasons for it. The summary should attempt to answer any questions which the Board may have in regard to the case.
:iii. Gross misapplication of policy by the original body.
::b. The written request for appeal filed by the appellant.
::c. Explanations by each of the other parties to the case of their views, and action desired.
::d. An explanation by the Administrative Committee Chair of the relevant Administrative Code sections, and any other relevant BSC policies.


E. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall appoint someone from the Enforcement Committee to represent the decision that they made, and to submit a report summarizing the case and the Enforcement Committee’s reasoning.


:3. Unless an extension is granted, the right of appeal shall not extend beyond the third Cabinet meeting after the Administrative Committee meeting where the decision was made.
F. All decisions made by the Appeals Committee are final and cannot be appealed.


F. When considering appeals from Administrative Committee decisions, the Cabinet shall proceed as follows:
G. The Chair rendering the initial decision must swiftly notify members of their right to appeal, the deadline to file, and the process to initiate.
:1. The order of recognition for opening statements shall be as follows: the Administrative Committee Chair, member appellant, Member Avocate or other designated representative, staff, other parties to the appeal.
:2. The facilitator shall set time limits for opening statements, between 1 and 6 minutes, taking into account the complexity of the issue. The facilitator shall consult the parties of the case beforehand, if possible, and each speaker shall be allotted the same amount of time to speak.
:3. The body shall then pose questions to the parties of the appeal. Unless consideration is extended by a simple two-thirds (2/3) vote, consideration shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes total.
:4. All parties to the appeal shall be allowed to make a two minute statement prior to the discussion on the appeal. The staff member making closing statements may be different than the staff member who made the opening statement.
:5. The body will then deliberate the appeal. Only Board, Cabinet, the Administrative Committee Chair, and the Member Advocate may remain in the room; all other parties must leave. An exception may be made only with the consent of the appellant, consent of the complainant(s), and an absolute two thirds (2/3) majority vote of Cabinet the Board. Unless consideration is extended by a simple two thirds (2/3) Board majority, discussion shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes total.
:6. The scope of review of Cabinet the Board of Directors is not to retry the case but rather to review the issues relevant to appeal and determine whether procedure was followed and whether policy was properly applied to the relevant facts.
:7. The facilitator may rule out of order issues that are not relevant to the scope of the appeal.


H. If there is a conflict of interest that would preclude a staff person or member leader from serving on the Appeals Committee, or one of the stated members is not available to participate, the President, then the Executive Director and then the Cooperative Experience Manager (for Conduct) or VP of Internal Affairs (for Administrative cases) may designate an appropriate alternate, taking into consideration the intended make-up of the committee.


''[Board Approved 10/27/12]''
I. The Administrative Appeals Committee must be trained in the Administrative Code, procedure, mock cases, and anti-oppression.
 
 
''[Updated as per approval at Cabinet #8 (12.8.23)]''
 
''[Updated 05/07/20]''
[[Category:Policy]] [[Category:Section II - Administrative Code]]

Revision as of 11:46, 10 January 2023

A. The policy in this section applies to decisions that were made by the AdHoc Committee, the Conduct Committee (ConCom), the Clear and Present Danger Committee, the Central Level PNG Review Committee, or by staff with regard to BSC member conduct related matters.

B. The Appeals Committee for a conduct-related issue shall consist of:

a. The Conduct Member Advisor not participating in the initial conduct decision
b. The Conduct Committee Chair not participating in the initial conduct decision
c. The Cooperative Experience Manager or the Executive Director’s designee, as long as they did not participate in the initial conduct decision
d. The Vice President of Experience and Training (VPET) or another Board Director of their choice (a non-voting member)

C. The Appeals Committee for an administrative-related issue shall consist of:

a The Vice President of Internal Affairs, or the President’s designee in extenuating circumstances in which the VPIA is unavailable
b Two other Board Directors (Board will elect and maintain a pool of at least five Board Directors to serve in this capacity at the start of each semester; Cabinet/Summer Committee members may serve until then)

D. The Appeals Committee will first ensure that all appeals conform to the following criteria, before proceeding with adjudication:

a. The member(s) who initially brought the case - complainants(s) - and the respondent may appeal the outcome
b. All appeals must be filed no later than five (5) business days after the date the appellant was notified of the decision.
c. The appellant must submit a document outlining the reasons for their appeal and the decision that they wish the Appeals Committee to take.
d. Appeals may be made for the following reasons:
i. New evidence that could not be presented at the time of the original meeting.
ii. Procedural error that unfairly and materially affected the outcome of the case.
iii. Gross misapplication of policy by the original body.

E. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall appoint someone from the Enforcement Committee to represent the decision that they made, and to submit a report summarizing the case and the Enforcement Committee’s reasoning.

F. All decisions made by the Appeals Committee are final and cannot be appealed.

G. The Chair rendering the initial decision must swiftly notify members of their right to appeal, the deadline to file, and the process to initiate.

H. If there is a conflict of interest that would preclude a staff person or member leader from serving on the Appeals Committee, or one of the stated members is not available to participate, the President, then the Executive Director and then the Cooperative Experience Manager (for Conduct) or VP of Internal Affairs (for Administrative cases) may designate an appropriate alternate, taking into consideration the intended make-up of the committee.

I. The Administrative Appeals Committee must be trained in the Administrative Code, procedure, mock cases, and anti-oppression.


[Updated as per approval at Cabinet #8 (12.8.23)]

[Updated 05/07/20]

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