Trial Committee

[Guest Kwemara7]

Greetings,

 

In our society our trial committee is our Executive Committee. Our rules require us to consult Robert's on issues not mentioned therein. However there is no word on the following question in our rules or RONR 10:

Several of our members have independently brought charges against another member. These charges are from Executive members, including the President, who are also the ones who will be trying the case. Is there any advise on this situation, please?

[jstackpo]

Amend the bylaws.

[Gary c Tesser]

A couple more points:

2. "... not mentioned therein ..." Not mentioned where?

3. See the 11th. The wording now prohibits individuals from preferring charges, rather than discouraging it. So there's your answer.

4. Note that the trial committee is distinct from the investigating committee.

[Josh Martin]

Several of our members have independently brought charges against another member.

 

Individual members do not have the authority to prefer charges under RONR. The appropriate procedure is to appoint an investigative committee, which will then make a recommendation to the general membership about whether to prefer charges. Your Bylaws may provide otherwise, but the fact that the Executive Committee serves as the trial committee does not, in and of itself, change how the rest of the process works.

 

Several of our members have independently brought charges against another member. These charges are from Executive members, including the President, who are also the ones who will be trying the case. Is there any advise on this situation, please?

 

If all your Bylaws say on this subject is that the Executive Committee serves as the trial committee, keep in mind that the trial committee is only one step in the process. There are several steps in the process before the trial committee hears the case, and the trial committee ultimately makes a recommendation to the general membership, which may lessen (but not increase) the penalty imposed by the trial committee.

 

So my first advice is to check your Bylaws carefully to see what else they say on this subject, and if they don't say anything else, read Ch. XX of RONR to learn how the other steps in the disciplinary process work. Then amend your Bylaws.

[J. J.]

Greetings,

 

In our society our trial committee is our Executive Committee. Our rules require us to consult Robert's on issues not mentioned therein. However there is no word on the following question in our rules or RONR 10:

Several of our members have independently brought charges against another member. These charges are from Executive members, including the President, who are also the ones who will be trying the case. Is there any advise on this situation, please?

 

Under RONR, the body that adopts the charges also tries the case, so that part of it okay.

 

Your bylaws greatly modify RONR.  I would suggest that you contact a parliamentarian to advise you.

 

For a lead on a parliamentarian, contact either or both of these organizations:

National Association of Parliamentarians

213 South Main St.

Independence, MO 64050-3850

Phone: 888-627-2929

Fax: 816-833-3893;

e-mail: hq@NAP2.org

http://parliamentarians.org/

or

American Institute of Parliamentarians

550M Ritchie Highway #271

Severna Park, MD 21146

Phone: 888-664-0428

Fax: 410-544-4640

e-mail: aip@parliamentaryprocedure.org

http://aipparl.org/site/

 

[Josh Martin]

Under RONR, the body that adopts the charges also tries the case, so that part of it okay.

 

Not if the organization has a trial committee.