Who can call for order during a meeting

[Guest Rob Rollins]

If a meeting is getting out of hand who can call for order? I understood that only the president can call for order. 
Also can any member make a motion to adjourn the meeting at any time? 

[Joshua Katz]

A member may raise a point of order, which requests that the chair enforce the rules. This assumes that the "getting out of hand" is violating some rules, of course. 

An unqualified motion to adjourn may indeed be made while other business is ongoing, and is privileged under that circumstance.

[Josh Martin]

On 1/24/2024 at 3:50 PM, Guest Rob Rollins said:

If a meeting is getting out of hand who can call for order?

Provided that the meeting getting "out of hand" involves a breach of the rules, any member.

On 1/24/2024 at 3:50 PM, Guest Rob Rollins said:

I understood that only the president can call for order. 

Your understanding is incorrect.

"It is the right of every member who notices a breach of the rules to insist on their enforcement. If the chair notices a breach, he corrects the matter immediately; but if he fails to do so—through oversight or otherwise—any member can make the appropriate Point of Order. The presiding officer may wish to engage in brief research or consult with the parliamentarian before ruling, and may allow the assembly to stand at ease (see 8:2(4)) while he does so. In any event, when the presiding officer has made a ruling, any two members can appeal (one making the appeal and the other seconding it), as described in 24." RONR (12th ed.) 23:3

On 1/24/2024 at 3:50 PM, Guest Rob Rollins said:

Also can any member make a motion to adjourn the meeting at any time? 

"Any time" goes perhaps a bit too far, but generally, yes, the motion to Adjourn is in order. The unqualified form of the motion to Adjourn is a privileged motion, takes precedence over almost all other motions, is not debatable, and requires a majority vote for adoption. There are some limitations. For example, the motion to Adjourn cannot interrupt a speaker.

[Rob Elsman]

On 1/24/2024 at 4:06 PM, Joshua Katz said:

An unqualified motion to adjourn may indeed be made while other business is ongoing...

Why?  Short of a civil riot that makes the meeting hall unsafe for the occupants, I think it is a terrible idea for the assembly to surrender to an unruly rabble its right to sit.  Indeed, the insistence that the rules be enforced may be the only thing that keeps the rabble from becoming violent.

Edited January 25, 2024 at 02:20 AM by Rob Elsman

[Josh Martin]

On 1/24/2024 at 6:24 PM, Rob Elsman said:

Why?  Short of a civil riot that makes the meeting hall unsafe for the occupants, I think it is a terrible idea for the assembly to surrender to an unruly rabble its right to sit.  Indeed, the insistence that the rules be enforced may be the only thing that keep the rabble from becoming violent.

I agree. Nonetheless, the question was "Also can any member make a motion to adjourn the meeting at any time?" The answer to this question is "Mostly, yes." Whether it's a good idea to do so in a given situation is a different question entirely.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 1/24/2024 at 4:50 PM, Guest Rob Rollins said:

If a meeting is getting out of hand who can call for order? I understood that only the president can call for order. 
Also can any member make a motion to adjourn the meeting at any time? 

Any member can call another member to order for a breach of decorum, but it is the duty of the presiding officer to maintain order, and a Point of Order can be properly raised if that's not being done.

A motion to Adjourn has very high precedence and can be made at virtually any point during a meeting as a privileged motion, but in that form it may not interrupt a vote in progress, may not be made if another has the floor, and requires a second.  Once moved, it is neither debatable nor amendable, so the vote (majority required) would be taken immediately.

While it is technically not amendable, it does yield to the privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn, which could certainly change the effect of adjournment.