XVIII: Appeals

A. The member advocate will let the individual member know of their rights of appeal.

B. Decisions of the Administrative Committee on specific cases — as opposed to general policy issues — may be considered by the Board only if brought to the Board under one of the following conditions:

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 Board by the affected member.

2. Any other case may be appealed for procedural errors or for issues important enough for Board Consideration. 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.

C. Cases not exempted by Section XVIII.B.1 shall be considered by the Cabinet. When considering appeals of AdCom decisions, the Cabinet shall proceed as follows:

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 Cabinet shall then consider the appeal. Unless consideration is extended by a simple 2/3 vote, consideration shall

be limited to five minutes.

5. The Cabinet shall then vote on the disposition of the case. A simple majority shall be required for the board to hear the case.

D. 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.

1. If one of the parties to the decision must be notified by mail, s/he shall have fifteen (15) days after the mailing of notification in which to mail or file the written request for appeal.

2. Once the Administrative Committee Chair has received the written request for appeal and Cabinet agrees that the appeal meets the guidelines in section XVIII.A, s/he shall prepare a written report for the Board, which shall be sent to Board members and the parties to the appeal in the first Board packet prior to the Board meeting. This report shall include:

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.

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.

3. The Board shall not consider an appeal unless the above report has been presented to it prior to its meeting. If the report cannot be presented to the Board prior to the meeting immediately following the Administrative Committee decision, or if the parties to the case require more time to file an appeal, or explanation, the Administrative Committee Chair or BSC President may grant an extension of the above deadlines.

a. The Administrative Committee Chair or President may allow the written report and appeal to be presented to the Board at its meeting in urgent cases requiring immediate consideration of the appeal.

b. Unless an extension is granted, the right of appeal shall not extend beyond the second Board meeting after the Administrative Committee meeting where the decision was made.

4. When considering appeals from Administrative Committee decisions, the Board shall proceed as follows:

a. The order of recognition for opening statements shall be as follows: AdCom chair, member appellant, member advocate or other designated representative, staff, other parties to the appeal.

b. All parties to the appeal shall be allowed to make a two minute statement prior to the Board’s final vote on the appeal.

c. The Board shall then consider the appeal. Unless consideration is extended by a simple two-thirds (2/3) vote, consideration shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes total (not including opening and closing statements, but including any parliamentary points or matters), and one minute per speaker.

d. The chair shall set time limits for opening statements, between 1 and 6 minutes, taking into account the complexity of the issue. The chair shall consult the parties of the case beforehand, if possible, and each speaker shall be allotted the same amount of time to speak.