Judicial charter released today

New draft allows students moreNew draft allows students morerepresentation in hearings The University's revised judicial charter would provide students involved in hearings with more opportunities to use advisors and legal representation if adopted, according to Provost Stanley Chodorow. It mandates "clear and convincing evidence" as a burden of proof, he said. The current charter's standard is a "preponderance of evidence." Chodorow added that the new draft allows students as well as the Office of Student Conduct to appeal a sanction before the Disciplinary Hearing Officer, who would rule on the appropriateness of the sanction. And the provost will play "no role in this process." But under the new draft, Chodorow said, the provost will appoint the DHO in consultation with two advisory bodies made up of students. Though Chodorow told an open meeting of the Undergraduate Assembly on Sunday that he would release a new draft of the Judicial Charter on line before it appeared in the Almanac today, no copy was available as of last night. Instead, Chodorow responded by e-mail to questions about the charter. Under the new draft, the provost will no longer have the ability to intervene in a case where the University's "important interests were at stake," he said. The revised draft allows the advisors of students involved in judicial hearings to question witnesses if the DHO believes "it is in the interest of fairness to do so," Chodorow said. And according to Chodorow, the draft gives the University's General Counsel the right to permit students involved in judicial cases to have lawyers "when the respondent faces [or is reasonably certain to face] criminal or civil prosecution." Under the revised charter, two advisory councils of students appointed by the provost would advise the OSC director on the administering of the judicial process. The councils would also recommend changes in the charter to the provost, he said. In addition to the student advisory councils, Chodorow said the Faculty Senate and the deans will advise the OSC and the provost about the system. The newly-revised judicial charter proposal will be discussed at next Wednesday's University Council meeting. Chodorow said the draft will be sent to the deans for comment after the meeting. College senior Eric Tienou, president of the student-run First Amendment Task Force, said he could not evaluate the revised charter until he sees a copy of the draft. Other student leaders who advised the provost directly on the charter said they would not comment on the draft until after it is made public.