Committee unveils final judicial plan

The Committee for Judicial Reform released final recommendations for a new Judicial Charter late last week, calling its proposal "a new system with greater and direct student and faculty involvement." The new document also creates a mediation center and increases the authority of student-faculty hearing boards. But before it can begin to impact students facing disciplinary action, it must be approved by Provost Stanley Chodorow, the General Counsel's Office and the deans. According to College junior Wilton Levine, chairperson of the working group that developed the new Charter, after Chodorow and University lawyers have appraised and made changes to the Charter, they will return it to Levine and the rest of the CJR for final acceptance. "Our main concern is keeping the spirit the same," Levine said, adding that his working group wants to insure the document's language remains simplistic enough for students to understand without the assistance of multiple lawyers. The final recommendations stand in contrast to the preliminary Charter the group released for comment in January. University Council remanded that document in February -- despite its verbose explanations and high degree of complexity -- because Council members believed it was an incomplete outline. The document Chodorow and the General Counsel's Office received last week incorporates some of the suggestions made by Council and during public forums held by the CJR. Thirteen students, rather than 11, would serve on the Student Judicial Council if the new version of the Charter is adopted. The complainant would not be a party involved in the hearing, unless he or she is called as a witness. Advisers, under the new system, would be "any member of the University community." The status of the hearing board's decision remains unresolved. While the working group still advocates the finality of the board's rulings "failing appeal," Chodorow has said he would prefer to use the hearing board's finding as a recommendation to him or his designee. "The Committee [on Judicial Reform] decided in the end to present its view of the Charter and not to try to accommodate my views," Chodorow said. "I think that is best. I will give my view a final form in the course of working through the details, because it is in the details that many issues can be worked out." Levine said last night his group has accomplished major reform even if Chodorow chooses to take the hearing board's work as a recommendation instead of a ruling. By forming a standing, permanent Student Judicial Council -- to meet every month for discussion of existing cases and to hold mock hearings for practice -- and having the SJC executive committee meet weekly with the Judicial Officer to monitor the system, Levine said the new Charter will deal with problems in the judicial system before they become overwhelming. "They're going to be efficient, they're going to be trained, and they're going to be consistent because they're going to have practice [handling cases]," he said, referring to members of the SJC. Levine said he hopes the Charter will be ready for implementation July 1, but said September 1 may be a more realistic date due to the conferences that must occur before all involved parties agree to its terms.