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Hearings in Contested Cases

Consult the Hearing Outline.

Please be aware of some things you should consider doing in order to prepare for a contested hearing. Remember, every person's hearing is unique to his/her personal circumstances. You may also find the following helpful:

Beginning the Hearing

A hearing in a contested case can last from 15–45 minutes to several hours, and will most likely be held in a second-floor conference room at Stanford’s Tresidder Memorial Union.

There will be four students, one faculty and one staff person on the Judicial Panel. (Although there are always four students, in an Honor Code case there could be two faculty members and no staff; while in a Fundamental Standard case there could be two staff members and no faculty).

Hearings have the appearance or feel of a meeting or conference, not a courtroom proceeding. The setting is designed to make all participants feel as comfortable as possible, under the circumstances. The panelists will sit on one side of the table. You, the reporting party, and the Judicial Officer will sit on the other side of the table. (The Judicial Officer will be seated between you and the reporting party). The Judicial Advisor will be at the end of the table. Hearings are audio-tape-recorded to preserve a record of the proceedings, and you are entitled to receive a copy of the audiocassette tapes. (Hearings are not transcribed.)

Bias Checks

You will have an opportunity to see all of the panelists and inform the Judicial Advisor if you recognize anyone and have a concern that there is a possible bias (grounds for excusing that panelist, pursuant to applicable bias check practices and procedures). In such event, you and the Judicial Advisor will step out of the hearing room briefly so that you can discuss it; it is the Judicial Advisor's responsibility to then decide, in her sole discretion, if there are persuasive grounds for excusing that individual for possible bias. Once you have acknowledged the Panel is acceptable, the Chair (always one of the four students) will begin the hearing with a reminder about the nature of the proceedings, including their confidentiality.

Presenting the Evidence

The Chair will go through the following steps:

  • You will be asked at that point to confirm that all documents pertinent to the case have been provided and made available in the hearing, such as the charge letter, the letter of concern and your written statement.
  • You will also be asked to confirm your position.
  • The Panel will then begin to ask questions.
  • In addition to answering the Panel's questions, you will also have an opportunity to ask questions and make statements (or you can rely on your written statement).
  • Witnesses will be called in, as appropriate. (Witnesses stay seated outside the hearing room until they are needed.) You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness(es), as will the JO and the reporting party. Please discuss potential witnesses with both the Judicial Advisor and Judicial Officer in advance.
  • The panel will ask the reporting party if he/she has any further comment.
  • The panel will ask the Judicial Officer if she has any further comment.
  • The panel will ask you if you have any final comments prior to deliberations. This is your last opportunity to speak to the panel before leaving the hearing room.

Deliberations about Responsibility

Once the evidentiary portion of the hearing is concluded, the Panel chairperson will adjourn for deliberations. This may take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. You, the reporting party, any advisers and witnesses, and the Judicial Officer will leave the hearing room.

The Judicial Advisor will notify everyone when the panel has made its decision and all participants will return to the hearing room. The chairperson will read the Panel’s findings. If you are found not responsible, the Panel will adjourn and the process is concluded.

Note: Audio recording is not used for deliberations.

Discussion of Sanctions

If you are found responsible (by a minimum vote of 5–1), the Judicial Advisor will outline sanction precedence and you will have an opportunity to speak to the panel about the impact sanctions will have on you.

Please note that if you intend to ask for a non-standard penalty, you are strongly encouraged to tell or submit a statement to that effect to the JA at least ten business days before the hearing. The JA will attempt to verify the information you are providing about why a different or more lenient penalty would be appropriate.

After your Judicial Panel has finished asking you questions about the impact of potential sanctions, it will ask the reporting party if he/she has further comments. It will also ask the Judicial Officer if there are mitigating and/or aggravating factors in the case that have not yet been presented. And finally, the Panel will ask you for final comments. This will be your last opportunity to speak to the panelists about anything else relevant to your case that has not been presented before.

Sanction Deliberations

The Panel will then adjourn to deliberate in closed-door session, and you, the reporting party and the Judicial Officer will again be excused.

Sanction deliberations usually last between 15–45 minutes, but some have lasted for several hours. You, the reporting party, and the Judicial Officer will be invited to return to hear the decision, although neither your attendance nor that of the reporting party is mandatory. If you and/or the reporting party choose to leave once deliberations have begun, the Judicial Advisor will notify you and him/her of the outcome via email immediately after the hearing is concluded.

Please note that Judicial Panel deliberations are confidential; thus, the Judicial Advisor (who sits in and is available to answer process or procedure-related questions the panelists might have) will not be able to provide information other than what is contained in the Hearing Report.

(Last Updated April 2005)