J. POST-TRIAL (For cases reported before September 18, 2005)

Purpose: The purpose of the post-trial stage is to give the dismissed student an opportunity to seek redress for any errors or inconsistencies that may have occurred during the pre-trial and trial stages. There are two forums for redress in the post-trial stage: appeal and grievance.

1. Appeals

Purpose: The purpose of the appeal is to give the dismissed student an opportunity to seek a re-trial.

a. Overview of Appeals Process

For purposes of these provisions, an "appeal" means the filing by a dismissed student of a request for an Appeal Hearing in accordance with Subsection 1.c, below. Once an appeal has been filed, it will be forwarded, together with the dismissed student's appeal brief, to an Appeal Review. The Appeal Review will meet to determine, on the basis of such brief, which issues raised in the appeal, if any, should proceed to an Appeal Hearing (Subsection 2, below). If the Appeal Review determines that an Appeal Hearing is warranted, a Pre-Appeal Conference will meet to determine the nature and scope of the evidence, if any, that will be admitted at the Appeal Hearing (Subsection 3, below). With respect to appeals that survive to the Appeal Hearing stage, at the conclusion of the Appeal Hearing, either (i) the appeal will be dismissed, or (ii) the request for a new trial will be granted.

b. Appeal Grounds and Time Limits for Filing Appeals

The dismissed student may file an appeal on either of two grounds:
i. Appeal for good cause. With respect to any single conviction, the dismissed student may file a single appeal for good cause. Such appeal must be submitted, in writing, to the Vice Chair for Trials within thirty (30) calendar days following the date of the trial.
ii. Appeal based on new evidence. With respect to any single conviction, the dismissed student may file an unlimited number of appeals based on new evidence. Such appeals must be submitted, in writing, to the Vice Chair for Trials within two years following the date of the trial.

Issues relating to the timeliness of the report initiation, investigation, accusation and/or trial will not be grounds for appeal, as a new trial would not redress problems of timeliness. Such issues, if any, should be brought to the Committee's attention by way of a grievance (Subsection 5, below). (Language modified, October 16, 2005)

Special time limits and procedures relating to the filing of an Expedited Appeal are set forth in Subsection 1.d, below. Upon filing a grievance (or an Expedited Grievance), if any, in accordance with Subsection 5, below, the dismissed student's right to file further appeals, if any, shall be deemed to have been waived.

c. Form of Appeal; Action by Vice Chair for Trials

(i) Each appeal must be in writing and must describe the grounds for appeal (good cause and/or new evidence), state whether the dismissed student requests a closed or an open Appeal Hearing, and designate a choice of counsel for the Pre-Appeal Conference and the Appeal Hearing, if any. In addition, in order for the appeals process to proceed, the dismissed student must file an appeal brief. The brief should begin with a prose narrative outlining the major issues on appeal, and should be followed by detailed arguments supporting each issue raised in the appeal. If an appeal brief meeting these criteria is not received by the Vice Chair for Trials within 10 days of the filing of the appeal, the appeal will be dismissed.

(ii) Upon receipt of the dismissed student's appeal brief, the Vice Chair for Trials will forward the appeal letter and brief to an "Appeal Review," to be comprised of an Appeal Chair, an Appeal Observer (each of whom shall be Committee members), and a Pre-Appeal Coordinator. Such panelists shall be appointed by the Vice Chair for Trials and shall serve as the panelists through the Appeal Hearing stage, if applicable, except that the Vice Chair for Trials may make appropriate substitutions for individual panelists if, in his reasonable judgment, circumstances warrant. In the event that an Appeal Hearing is held, the Appeal Chair and Appeal Observer shall oversee the Appeal Hearing, although neither may vote on the ultimate issue whether to grant the dismissed student's request for a new trial, which decision shall be made by a new panel appointed for this purpose (Subsection 4, below).

d. Expedited Appeals

A dismissed student may elect to file a single Expedited Appeal (for good cause and/or based on new evidence), but only if:
(i) the dismissed student indicates his intention to file an Expedited Appeal, on a form to be provided by the Committee, and completes, signs, and delivers such form to the Committee no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday following the conclusion of the trial; and
(ii) the dismissed student files an appeal meeting the requirements of Subsection (c), above, together with the appeal brief, within ten (10) calendar days following the date of the filing of the election form referred to in Subparagraph (i), above.

An Expedited Appeal may be elected by any student who is convicted after September 9, 2001, regardless of the date of case report initiation. (Language modified, October 16, 2005)

e. Good Cause Extension

The deadlines for the filing of appeals (including Expedited Appeals) and appeal briefs may be subject to extension, upon a showing of good cause, at the sole discretion of the Executive Committee.

2. Appeal Review

Purpose: The purpose of the Appeal Review is to determine whether, on the basis of the issues raised and argued in the appeal brief, an Appeal Hearing is warranted.

a. Promptly following its appointment by the Vice Chair for Trials, the Appeal Review shall meet to review the dismissed student's appeal brief. Decisions by the Appeal Review shall be made by a two-thirds majority vote. The Appeal Review may ask to hear from the counsel for the dismissed student if the Appeal Review has questions about the brief.

b. If the Appeal Review determines that one or more issues raised by the dismissed has a factual basis and likely affected the outcome of the trial, then the Appeal Review will forward such issue(s) for an Appeal Hearing. Otherwise, the appeal will be dismissed by the Appeal Review.

3. Pre-Appeal Conference

Purpose: The purpose of the Pre-Appeal Conference is to determine the nature and scope of the evidence to be presented at the Appeal Hearing, and whether any other measures may be necessary to provide for a fair and efficient Appeal Hearing.

a. A Pre-Appeal Conference will be held prior to every Appeal Hearing. The issue(s) to be argued at the Appeal Hearing, already identified by the Appeal Review, will not be rehashed at the Pre-Appeal Conference. Rather, the Pre-Appeal Conference functions, for the Appeal Hearing, much the way the pre-trial conference functions for the Honor trial: to determine the nature and scope of the evidence to be admitted at the Appeal Hearing. Nevertheless, the Pre-Appeal Conference may, in extraordinary circumstances (including the demonstration of substantial facts omitted from the dismissed student's appeal brief) reverse its prior decision to send any or all of the appeal issues on to an Appeal Hearing, and dismiss the appeal.

b. Counsel for both sides will present their appeal briefs in final draft form at the Pre-Appeal Conference. Once the nature and scope of the evidence has been determined at the Pre-Appeal Conference, the counsel will rewrite their briefs, excluding anything that was deemed out of scope. At a time to be determined by the Pre-Appeal Conference, counsel will re-submit their briefs to the Appeal Chair for final review. The members of the Appeal Panel will attempt to resolve any disputes during the Pre-Appeal Conference, so as to provide for a fair Appeal Hearing.

c. Rulings at the Pre-Appeal Conference shall be made by a two-thirds majority vote.

4. Appeal Hearing

Purpose: The Appeal Hearing is the forum in which a request for retrial is heard.

a. In order to be granted a new trial on the basis of a good cause appeal, the dismissed student must show:
i. that he has not waived his right to appeal, and
ii. that he was denied (A) an explicit right in the Honor Committee Constitution, (B) a "full and fair hearing," or (C) a right that is implicit in these by-laws, and
iii that such denial more likely than not affected the outcome of the trial.

b. In order to be granted a new trial on the basis of a new evidence appeal, the dismissed student must show that the new evidence would more likely than not have affected the outcome of the trial.

c. The Vice Chair for Trials shall appoint a new panel of three Committee members for the Appeal Hearing. The Appeal Chair and the Appeal Observer will again assume their respective roles at the Appeal Hearing, provided that only the new panel of three Committee members will decide, by a two-thirds majority vote, whether or not to grant the dismissed student's request for a new trial. (The Pre-Appeal Coordinator shall have no further role at the Appeal Hearing.)

d. At the Appeal Hearing, each counsel will present arguments on the issues raised in their respective briefs and will be given an opportunity to rebut arguments raised in the opposing briefs. The panel will then have a chance to ask questions. Once all questions have been answered, the dismissed student will be given time to address the panel with any additional concerns relating to the appeal, and the panel will retire to deliberate.

e. If the panel decides that the dismissed student has not satisfied the criteria for a new trial (Subsections 4.a. and 4.b, above), the appeal will be dismissed and the notation "Enrollment Discontinued" will remain on the student's transcript. In the case of an Expedited Appeal, the Committee will request that the Registrar or that office's designee replace the notation on the transcript "Enrollment Contingent Upon Appeal of Honor Conviction," with "Enrollment Discontinued" unless the student requests an Expedited Grievance in accordance with subsection 5.c. below. If, however, the panel does grant a new trial, a new trial will be scheduled as soon as reasonably possible thereafter. Until a new trial has occurred, the student will return to "accused student" status, meaning that the Committee will request that the Registrar, or that office's designee, remove all notations from the student's transcript and remove any bar against readmission or course enrollment related to the Honor conviction.

5. Grievances.

Purpose: As an avenue of last resort, the Honor Committee will allow dismissed students to present concerns regarding the fairness of the proceedings which led to their dismissal through the submission of a grievance in accordance with the following provisions. Upon the filing of a grievance (or an Expedited Grievance), the dismissed student shall be deemed to have waived all further rights, if any, to file appeals.

a. Grievance submissions. Dismissed students who have exhausted or wish to waive their rights of appeal may submit a letter expressing their grievances, along with any relevant evidence, to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may deny the grievance, or refer the grievance to a Grievance Commission,at its discretion. With respect to any single conviction, the dismissed student may file a single grievance.

b. Form of Grievance Submissions: Each grievance submitted must be in writing and must be submitted, if at all, within two (2) years following the date of the trial or effective date of the LAG.

c. Expedited Grievances. A dismissed student may elect to file an Expedited Grievance, but only if:

(i) the dismissed student indicates his intention to file an Expedited Grievance, on a form to be provided by the Committee, and completes, signs, and delivers such form to the Committee, within the following timeframes:

(A) if the dismissed student has already filed an Expedited Appeal in the case, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifth calendar day following the conclusion of the Expedited Appeal (for these purposes, the "conclusion of the Expedited Appeal" shall mean the date on which the request for an appeal is denied at the pre-appeal conference or, if an appeal hearing is held, the date on which the appeal panel decides not to grant the dismissed student a new trial); or

(B) if the dismissed student chooses to waive his rights to appeal and instead elects to proceed directly to the filing of a grievance, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday following the conclusion of the trial; and

(ii) the dismissed student files a grievance meeting the requirements of this Section J.4, within seven (7) calendar days following the date of the filing of the election form referred to in Subparagraphs (i)(A) and (i)(B), above, respectively.

An Expedited Grievance may be elected by any student who is convicted after September 9, 2001, regardless of the date of case report initiation. (Languge modified, October 16, 2005)

d. Good Cause Extension. The deadlines for the filing of grievances (including Expedited Grievances) may be subject to extension, upon a showing of good cause, at the sole discretion of the Executive Committee.

6. Grievance Commission.

Purpose: To review the grievance letter forwarded from the Executive Committee, determine whether sufficient grounds exist to grant relief, and recommend that relief, if necessary.

a. The Grievance Commission will be composed of three (3) Committee members, appointed by the Vice Chair for Trials. The Vice Chair for Trials will designate one Commission member to serve as a Commission Chair. The Commission Chair will be ultimately responsible for logistical matters.

b. Upon receiving the grievance letter from the Executive Committee, the Grievance Commission will review the contentions raised in the letter. The Commission has the authority to review, without limitation, all transcripts, documentation, and other materials retained by the Honor Committee. Additionally, the Commission may conduct interviews, request additional information from related parties, and gather information as it deems necessary.

c. Decisions of the Grievance Commission require a two-thirds vote.

d. The Grievance Commission will recommend granting relief if its investigation reveals:
i. that the student's case was not conducted objectively and/or not in accordance with Honor committee procedures and
ii. that the condition(s) named above very likely affected the outcome of proceedings.
iii. generally, the issues raised in the grievance have not been previously examined and dismissed through the appeal process.

e. The commission will recommend whether or not relief should be granted, and if so, on what basis. If the relief is granted, the Commission will then recommend the specific form of relief. The Commission may recommend any action in response to a grievance (including, without limitation, the granting of an appeal hearing previously denied, the granting of a new trial previously denied, and the dismissal of the honor charges).

f. The Grievance Commission will conduct its investigation and submit its recommendations to the Executive Committee within fourteen days of referral of the grievance letter from the Executive Committee. The Grievance Commission Chair may request, at his discretion, an extension for good cause to the Executive Committee.

g. Commission Recommendation(s); Action by the Executive Committee. Upon deciding on the recommendation(s) described in Subsection 6.d and 6.e, above, the Commission Chair or a Commission member designated by the Commission Chair will prepare a verbal Commission recommendation(s). The recommendation(s) will include the decisions reached by the Commission and any necessary explanation and shall be presented at the next meeting of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will review the recommendation at the its next meeting and may accept any or none of the commissions recommendation(s).

h. In rare circumstances, the Executive Committee may delegate, at its discretion, the authority to refer a grievance letter to a Grievance Commission and/or determine appropriate relief to the full Honor Committee.