Impeachment Hearing Procedures - first draft

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Callipygian
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Impeachment Hearing Procedures - first draft

Post by Callipygian »

Rationale:

No procedure has ever been in place to guide the SC in responding to a petition to impeach a member of CDS government. The Constitution says:

Section 7 – Hearings and Trials
Hearings and trials not involving government officials will be overseen by a single Professor. All impeachment hearings will be performed in the Philosophic branch by the Chairs without a jury. If a Chair is accused, that Chair will be excused for the duration of the hearing. A member of the branch which is not calling for the impeachment hearing will serve as Leader of the Philosophic branch during the hearing.

This language is archaic, referring to Professors and Chairs - positions that have not been in use in the SC for many years, if ever - and 'trials', again wording that is incorrect, since the function of the SC is to hold hearings and interpret Law and Constitution, not act as a judiciary. There is also no description of how a hearing should be conducted, what rights are in place for those facing impeachment, or any time-frames for action or methods of appeal.

This draft procedure is intended to address these omissions. Once completed, with both Hearing and Impeachment Hearing procedures identified, we need to propose a Constitutional amendment to have the Constitution state that hearings shall be conducted following these procedures.

Impeachment Hearings (first draft):

Impeachment is a request to remove a serving member of government from office, and may include a request to deny that citizen the right to hold a government position in the future.

Impeachment can be requested where an action, actions or a pattern of actions, constitutes serious misconduct while in office. Such misconduct may include, but is not limited to, intentional refusal to uphold and obey the Laws and Constitution of the CDS, fraud, or any other action intended to cause harm to the CDS or its citizens.

Impeachment can be requested by those identified in the CDS Constitution, by petition delivered to the Dean of the SC.

When a petition to impeach is received by the Dean of the SC, the Dean will immediately notify all SC members and will publish the petition in SC announcements.

Within 7 days the SC as a body will decide, by simple majority vote, if the complaint identifies actions or a pattern of actions that may meet the level to justify a hearing for impeachment. Where possible this vote will be taken at a meeting, but can be conducted in the SC Discussion Forum at the discretion of the Dean, when a meeting cannot be arranged in that timeframe.

Where the petition requests impeachment of an SC member, that member shall recuse her/himself from all activity related to the petition, other than those actions required of anyone facing impeachment. Where the petition calls for impeachment of the Dean of the SC, the Dean pro-tem shall assume the duties of the Dean related to the petition and all hearings.

Where a decision is made to hold a hearing, the following process will apply:

Hearings will be held with three members of the SC, designated by the Dean, to oversee the hearing and provide a decision. The Dean will consider potential conflicts of interest, available time of SC members and any other relevant factors in making the designation.

Hearings will be scheduled as quickly as possible, at a time when the designated SC members and the person facing impeachment are available. The Dean will request that the person facing impeachment provide a number of times and dates that they will be available to attend the hearing . Failure to provide such information within 3 days of the request will be viewed as obstruction and the Dean will schedule the hearing based on the availability of the SC members alone. The decision to impeach must be unanimous.

Hearings will be announced 14 days in advance.

If the person facing impeachment chooses not to attend a hearing, the hearing will still proceed and a finding given in their absence; this finding will be binding and there shall be no appeal of the decision given. If a person facing impeachment becomes disruptive to the proceedings they may be removed and the hearing will continue with them absent; in such cases there shall be no appeal also.

No third-party representation is permitted. Where there is a concern that a language barrier exists an interpreter can be used.

All citizens wishing to be heard regarding the complaint will be given a deadline for submission of their presentation in writing, for review by the SC members conducting the hearing. All relevant submissions will be published as appendices to the transcript of the hearing. Those making submissions regarding a hearing may be asked to answer additional questions before or during the proceedings, at the discretion of the Dean of the SC or the designated SC members conducting the hearing.

A transcript of the hearing, along with the decision reached, will be published in the SC Announcement Forum, with a 7 day time-frame for appeal by the original petitioners or by the person impeached.

If a decision is appealed, the Dean will empanel an appeal committee consisting of the Dean, the LRA and a past-member of the SC or RA. If the impeachment requested is of the LRA, the Chancellor will serve on the appeal panel. The panel will review the transcripts for any errors in applying the Laws and Constitution and will require a simple majority to grant or deny an appeal. Where no errors are found, the original decision will stand; where possible errors are found, or where additional information has been identified that may affect the decision, an appeal hearing will be convened. This appeal hearing panel will consist of the Dean and those members of the SC not involved in the original hearing.

Where a petition includes a request to bar the impeached from holding future office, the SC as a whole shall vote, by simple majority, on whether such a barring will occur. This vote will be held at the first SC meeting held after time for appeal has passed, or any appeal process is completed.

June 2 2016

People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing.

Walter H. Judd
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