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Time limit for a recess


J. J.

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If you wish to continue the meeting on a separate day, the proper motion is to adjourn, not to recess. The motion to adjourn can be made in the qualified form if made when no motion is pending, otherwise, you'll need to use the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn as well. A "recess" is a short break in a meeting.

I don't think there a magical time (one hour?) when a recess should have been an adjournment but I seem to recall a comment here that a recess assumes that the members won't be going very far from the meeting room.

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I don't think there a magical time (one hour?) when a recess should have been an adjournment but I seem to recall a comment here that a recess assumes that the members won't be going very far from the meeting room.

I think there would be a problem "recessing to" another location.

I heard someone today suggest that the assembly should "adjourn" for lunch. I have not heard that before.

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Is there any time limit for the length of a Recess?

Could the assembly recess for two hours for lunch, for example?

Could the assembly, say at 8:30 PM, recess until 9:00 AM the next day?

I guess page 83 says it best, using words like "individual context" and "virtually indistinguishable."

It's hard to imagine the 8:30 PM to 9:00 AM situation fitting into the definition on page 222: "a short intermission." Did the "short intermission" in Lawrence of Arabia require the audience to return to the theatre in the morning? It was before my time, so I'm asking. :huh:

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I think there would be a problem "recessing to" another location.

I'd have to concur. The motion to recess doesn't allow for setting a new meeting, whether in the same location or a new one.

I heard someone today suggest that the assembly should "adjourn" for lunch. I have not heard that before.

Assemblies adjourn to "close the meeting." You can't adjourn "for lunch." Once the meeting is adjourned, it's never called to order, again. That's why an adjourned meeting should be scheduled if it is desired to pick up the business later, like after lunch.

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Assemblies adjourn to "close the meeting." You can't adjourn "for lunch." Once the meeting is adjourned, it's never called to order, again. That's why an adjourned meeting should be scheduled if it is desired to pick up the business later, like after lunch.

It would be, to "adjourn until" a specific time in the afternoon. It was in that context.

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It would be, to "adjourn until" a specific time in the afternoon. It was in that context.

If the intention is to create an adjourned meeting, that is fine.

However, if the intention is to adjourn temporarily for lunch, that implies that the current meeting will reopen after adjournment. This, of course, cannot happen.

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Is there any time limit for the length of a Recess?

Could the assembly recess for two hours for lunch, for example?

Could the assembly, say at 8:30 PM, recess until 9:00 AM the next day?

Based on pgs. 82-83, it seems to me that the answers are "Probably" for the first example and "No" for the second. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 82, line 32 - pg. 83, line 1; pg. 83, lines 10-17) Adjourning until the next day is specifically given as an example of a misuse of the motion to recess, so that one seems pretty clear. The lunch issue seems murkier and is apparently based on the length of the lunch and the degree to which the members are dispersed. As noted, there is no clear-cut time limit for a recess.

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Based on pgs. 82-83, it seems to me that the answers are "Probably" for the first example and "No" for the second. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 82, line 32 - pg. 83, line 1; pg. 83, lines 10-17) Adjourning until the next day is specifically given as an example of a misuse of the motion to recess, so that one seems pretty clear. The lunch issue seems murkier and is apparently based on the length of the lunch and the degree to which the members are dispersed. As noted, there is no clear-cut time limit for a recess.

I would tend to agree, but would also note p. 83, l. 27-30 and the footnote. I do note, as well, that it could be put on an agenda (p. 224).

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OK, J. J., what do the people you're trying to advise really need to know?

Actually, it was comment that it was improper to recess for several hours for lunch. I would have taken lunch break of 2 hours, especially one previously scheduled by the adoption of an agenda, as a legitimate use of recess.

I did question the need to adjourn the meeting for a lunch break.

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Is there any time limit for the length of a Recess?

Could the assembly recess for two hours for lunch, for example?

Could the assembly, say at 8:30 PM, recess until 9:00 AM the next day?

Q#1: No, the distinction between an adjournment and a recess has more to do with the dispersion of the members from the premises.

Q#2: Yes, of course. For example, it may be arranged for lunch to be catered to a smaller assembly on the premises.

Q#3: What is this--a sleep in? Is pillow fighting allowed? biggrin.gif

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Q#1: No, the distinction between an adjournment and a recess has more to do with the dispersion of the members from the premises.

Q#2: Yes, of course. For example, it may be arranged for lunch to be catered to a smaller assembly on the premises.

Q#3: What is this--a sleep in? Is pillow fighting allowed? biggrin.gif

Q#1: I agree, though I would not a different procedural effect as noted in the footnote on p. 83.

Q#2: Suppose the members go out to local restaurants within walking distance, or it in a hotel and most members go to the dining room?

Q#3: I would find adjournment until the next day preferable, but I'm wondering if a motion to Recess is out of order.

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Q#1: I agree, though I would not a different procedural effect as noted in the footnote on p. 83.

Q#2: Suppose the members go out to local restaurants within walking distance, or it in a hotel and most members go to the dining room?

Q#3: I would find adjournment until the next day preferable, but I'm wondering if a motion to Recess is out of order.

I'm not going to split hairs about this. If the break is in the nature of an intermission, during which the members generally "hang around", then I would say a motion to Recess is the more proper motion. On the other hand, if members leave the premises and go their own ways, I would say that a motion to Adjourn is the more proper motion. The length of time involved is not, in itself, determinative, though the longer the interval, the more likely it is that members are intended to take their leave.

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