5. Hearings

5.1 Convening

A Faculty member of the Honor Board shall serve as the chair of the Honor Board (“Chair”). Upon the filing of a complaint initiating a formal hearing, the Chair shall, as soon as is reasonably possible, convene the Honor Board who shall conduct a formal hearing. The Chair shall preside at the formal hearing.

5.2 Representation of Parties

The Accused Student may represent himself/herself or be represented by a lawyer, in the discretion of the Accused Student. The Accused Student may also be accompanied by up to two individuals, in addition to counsel. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, in the interest of avoiding conflicts of interest, an Accused Student may not be represented by any member of the Faculty or any adjunct or affiliated faculty member of the School of Law. Any person who accompanies the Accused Student, other than counsel, may be heard during the proceedings in the sole discretion of the Honor Board.

5.3 Nature of the Hearing; Burden of Proof

The formal hearing shall be inquisitorial in nature, with the primary goal being to establish whether the accusation is or is not well-founded. The hearing is not intended to be adversarial. The burden of establishing any violation of this Code in a formal hearing shall be by clear and convincing evidence. The Investigators have a good faith obligation to present any issue and evidence that is favorable to the Accused Student’s case. Any finding of violation must be made by the affirmative vote of not less than four members of the Honor Board. Any finding of no violation must be made by an affirmative vote of not less than four members.

5.4 Hearing Procedures

All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Honor Board, except that the Accused Student shall enjoy, in all cases, the right to call witnesses, the right to question all witnesses, present exhibits, and make an opening and closing statement. Any objections shall be ruled on by the Chair at the hearing. The formal rules of evidence shall not apply.

5.5 Closed Hearings

Subject to applicable law, all hearings shall be closed and only the Accused Student, up to two accompanying individuals selected by the Accused Student, counsel, witnesses, and persons making a record of the proceeding shall be admitted.

5.6 Record of Proceedings

A record shall be made of the hearing. Such record shall be treated as confidential and maintained in the custody of the Office of the Dean. The record shall ordinarily consist of an audio recording. In addition, at the request of the Accused Student, the record may also consist of stenographic and/or videographic documentation.

5.7 Deliberations; Findings; Inability to Make Findings

The Honor Board shall deliberate. Subject to applicable law, only the Honor Board shall be present during deliberations, at which time the Honor Board may review any evidence and any record made of the hearing pursuant to this Code.

Upon a finding of no violation, the charge shall be dismissed and no sanctions shall be imposed. The Accused Student shall be provided with written notice by the Dean that the charge has been dismissed within seven (7) calendar days of the Honor Board’s finding of no violation.

If the Honor Board is unable to make a finding of violation or no violation, a replacement Honor Board may be convened at the discretion of the Dean, such replacement Honor Board consisting of entirely new members appointed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 3.2, to conduct a new formal hearing. If no replacement Honor Board is convened, then the matter is dismissed. Should the Dean decide not to convene a new Honor Board, then the Dean retains the right to settle the matter informally or close the matter.

Upon a finding of violation, the Honor Board has the discretion to recommend whatever sanction or sanctions it deems just and reasonable in light of all the circumstances, subject to Section 6 of this Code.

5.8 Report to the Dean

Upon making a finding of violation or no violation, the Honor Board members shall prepare a report to the Dean setting forth a summary of the testimony, along with their findings and conclusions. If the finding is one of violation, the report shall also set forth recommendations for sanction. Members of the Honor Board not agreeing with a majority view or position may submit as part of the report their minority view or position. For use in future cases as non-binding precedent, a copy of the report (with the identities of all persons excised, even when the Accused Student shall have waived his/her right to a closed hearing) shall be maintained in the files of the Honor Board. Copies of reports retained for this purpose shall be confidential within the membership of the Honor Board. The Honor Board files shall be maintained in the office of the Dean.

5.9 Reopening of Hearings

A formal hearing resulting in a finding of no violation shall not be reopened by the Honor Board. A formal hearing resulting in a finding of violation may be reopened upon production of new evidence which, in the opinion of not less than four members of the Honor Board, bears directly upon the innocence of the Accused Student and when the interests of justice clearly require it. A person seeking to reopen a formal hearing upon the ground of newly discovered evidence shall appear before the Honor Board and state the nature of the evidence relied upon, and the Honor Board shall determine whether the evidence warrants reopening the case. If a case is reopened, it shall be left to the discretion of the Honor Board appointed to conduct a formal hearing on the matter to determine whether the charges should be retried completely or whether the new evidence alone should be considered in connection with the old record.