09.01 All disciplinary proceedings shall be held in Executive Session.

09.02 Basic principles to be applied in all disciplinary proceedings shall include the following:
∑ The individual worth and dignity of each person shall be recognized and respected.
∑ The accused is presumed innocent until found guilty.
∑ The misconduct giving rise to the disciplinary proceedings shall be described to the accused.
∑ The accused is presumed knowledgeable of University and Residence Hall Association’s Bylaws, rules, regulations and policies, and must, therefore, be held fully responsible for his or her actions and the consequences to himself or herself and others.
∑ While the primary purpose of disciplinary action should not be to make an example of offenders, the action should help the student and the student body to better understand the standards of behavior by the University and the Student Senate.
∑ An accused’s guilt is determined by a preponderance of the evidence (the greater weight of the evidence).

09.03 In the case that an Residence Hall Association or Hall Officer or Task Force member is unfit to serve or fails to satisfactorily fulfill his/her duties, as determined by the advisor of the body from which the position originates; or a written petition containing the signatures of two-thirds of the members of the body from which the position originated or a written petition containing the signatures of two-thirds of the members of the Residence Hall Association body on which the member serves, but from whose position does not originate (e.g. A Hall President serves on Residence Hall Association Exec, but the Presidency originates with the Hall’s Executive Council) shall result in a hearing before the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee (RHAJC).

09.04 The creation of the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall take place in the following manner.
1. The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall consist of five members; only voting members of the body from which the petition springs shall be eligible for membership on the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee.
2. Each member of the body may have the opportunity to nominate one another members to be on the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. The accused may make a nomination as well. Nominees must accept or decline and nominees may remain in the chambers throughout the process.
3. After nominations have ceased, the body may debate the qualifications of nominees; however, if such qualifications are discussed, the body must move into Executive Session.
4. After the debate, the body will vote separately on each nominee in the order they were nominated.
5. The first nominee to be accepted by majority vote shall be the chair; the chair shall have voting rights. As soon as five members have been accepted, voting shall cease.

9.05 The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall then investigate the accusation. The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee may contact all persons that are thought to have relevant information. The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall keep a confidential record of all information gathered in the investigation, but shall not keep a record of the Residence Hall Association Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee’s discussion. After all information has been heard and considered by the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee, they shall decide if a full hearing shall be held to judge as to the fitness of the accused to serve. If the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee decides that a hearing will be necessary, the accused shall be given written notification seven calendar days before the hearing. The notification will include the time, date, place, and reason why the accused is deemed unfit to serve. The accused may waive the notification period and/or request a postponement for a reasonable cause, the legitimacy of which will be determined by the chair of the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. The request for postponement must be received at least 24 hours before the hearing is scheduled.

9.06 The hearing shall not follow the procedures existing in civil and criminal courts.
1. The attendance of the accused will not be a determining factor of the guilt of the accused. If the accused does not attend the hearing, the hearing will take place with the available information.
2. Attendance at the hearing will be restricted to those directly involved and those requested to be there by the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. Because the hearing and all its records are to be kept confidential, those testifying may be kept in a room other than that in which the hearing takes place. The chair shall insure an orderly hearing.
3. All witnesses waiting to testify will be expected to refrain from communicating with other witnesses or the accused during the hearing process. A Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee member will call individual witnesses into the hearing chambers to give testimony.
4. The accused may request witnesses to speak on his/her behalf and may submit a written statement. The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee may also present witnesses. Both sets of witnesses may be equally questioned by either side. A written record of the proceeding will be taken.
5. At the conclusion of the hearing the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall move into executive session. The Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee shall then discuss the guilt of the accused and determine a verdict. The verdict shall be determined by a majority vote of the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. If the accused is found unfit, then a second vote, also determined by the majority, will be taken to determine what the punishment shall be.
6. The accused will be notified within two calendar days of the decision by written notification. At that time, if found guilty, the accused may decide to appeal the decision of the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. All appeals will be heard by the Residence Hall Association Executive Council.
7. The Residence Hall Association Executive Board must by majority vote approve to hear an appeal. The appeal must be based on procedural error, misapplication, or misinterpretation of the Residence Hall Association Bylaws and/or University rules, barring any new and significant facts pertaining to the case. If the appeal is not dismissed, the Residence Hall Association Executive Board will either affirm or reverse the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee’s earlier decision. If the appeal is based not on any new facts, then the appeal is confined to a review of the written record of the hearing. The Residence Hall Association Executive Board may not impose a harsher or more severe punishment than was decided by the Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee. If new and significant facts are found, the Residence Hall Association Executive Board may return the appeal to the original Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee for a new hearing.
8. The punishments that can be levied are:
A. Censure - loss of voting power for a period of time
B. Suspension - loss of membership rights for a period of time.
C. Impeachment - permanent removal from office
9. A member may only be impeached by a Residence Hall Association Judicial Committee brought by the body from which the member’s position originates. (e.g. A Hall President may not be impeached by the Residence Hall Association Executive Board, only by the Hall’s Executive Council, but they may be censured or suspended from the Residence Hall Association Executive Board.)
10. At the conclusion of the investigation and/or hearing, a press release stating all the facts shall be issued to the media.