stoping meeting because of fighting

[Guest keith]

At a aqnnual meeting the membership became so out of control tha continuing the meeting was not possaable. Can the meeting be stoped without a vote?

[Kim Goldsworthy]

If it was truly out of control, then having no vote is acceptable.

Fire requires no vote, earthquake requires no vote, police ordered evacuation (e.g., bomb, gunman), requires no vote, because the extra 5 seconds or 10 seconds might mean life and death. Proper parliamentary procedure will wait behind loss of life due to a 5-10 delay. No loss of life is worth the extra time to do things "by The Book."

If by "out of control" you mean yelling or cross talk, then the answer is the opposite. - That is not an emergency situation. The extra 5 to 10 seconds of delay are meaningless.

[TheAdvocate]

If it was truly out of control, then having no vote is acceptable.

Fire requires no vote, earthquake requires no vote, police ordered evacuation (e.g., bomb, gunman), requires no vote, because the extra 5 seconds or 10 seconds might mean life and death. Proper parliamentary procedure will wait behind loss of life due to a 5-10 delay. No loss of life is worth the extra time to do things "by The Book."

If by "out of control" you mean yelling or cross talk, then the answer is the opposite. - That is not an emergency situation. The extra 5 to 10 seconds of delay are meaningless.

Ok, so let's say there is a lot of yelling and crosstalk. How do you stop it? I mean it seems that it is primarily the president's job to whack his gavel and bring order. But if he can't, does he have the power to dissolve the meeting, or force a recess until cooler heads prevail?

[Thomas Ralph]

The chair has neither of those powers. He should firmly regain order. He may, perhaps, entertain a motion to recess for 10 minutes whilst people cool their heads, but cannot recess unilaterally.

[Josh Martin]

At a aqnnual meeting the membership became so out of control tha continuing the meeting was not possaable. Can the meeting be stoped without a vote?

If some sort of riot is breaking out and the members' safety is in jeopardy, yes, the chair can and should adjourn the meeting and set up an adjourned meeting without a vote. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 84, line 32 - pg. 85, line 2) Otherwise, no.

How do you stop it? I mean it seems that it is primarily the president's job to whack his gavel and bring order.

"Whacking the gavel" is not recommended as a method of bringing order. While a light rap of the gavel is appropriate when calling a member to order, attempting to drown out a member with his gavel is inappropriate and will likely only make the situation worse. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 626, lines 1-7, 12-17) For the proper procedures to use when members are disorderly, see RONR, 10th ed., pgs. 625-629.

But if he can't, does he have the power to dissolve the meeting, or force a recess until cooler heads prevail?

No. Both the motion to recess and the motion to adjourn require a majority vote. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 224, line 6; pg. 228, line 13) The chair cannot unilaterally adjourn the meeting unless it reaches the point where the members' safety is in jeopardy. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 84, line 32 - pg. 85, line 2)

[Weldon Merritt]

The chair cannot unilaterally adjourn the meeting unless it reaches the point where the members' safety is in jeopardy. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 84, line 32 - pg. 85, line 2)

I concur, but the chair has to exercise some degree of judgment. I can see a situation where the chair sincerly believes that the members' saftey is in jeopardy, declares the meeting adjourned, and leaves. Then after the chair leaves, the vice president, sincerly believing that the members' saftey is not in jeopardy, assumes the chair, successfuly regains control, and continues the meeting. A quorum is still present, and several motions are adopted. Are those motions valid? It seems to me that this is a question that would have to be resolved at a later meeting through a point of order (that the motions are not valid because thay were adopted after the meeting was adjorned) and, if necessary, an appeal of the chair's ruling.