In consultation with the Center for Student Conflict Management, students may request their case be brought forward to ACJC for a conduct conversation. The proceeding is not adversarial like a courtroom trial. Instead, the purpose of the conduct conversation is to discover the facts of the situation and render an impartial decision that is restorative and fair. If your case is referred to ACJC, you will be notified in writing of the date, time, and location from the Office of the Dean of Students. At that time, you may also request a pre-hearing outreach meeting with a Justice from ACJC (who will not participate in your conduct conversation) to learn more about the process.
If you choose to plead responsible, your case may be heard by an ACJC Responsible Plea Panel.
- All the people involved in the case will be introduced to the panel and admonished to give only truthful testimony in the hearing. Everyone but the ACJC panel members, the ACJC faculty advisor, the respondent, and the respondent’s advisor will then be excused from the room.
- ACJC will first call the witnesses for the University. Each will be asked to give a statement describing the incident in question. ACJC will then have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness. Afterwards you will have the opportunity ask questions of the witness. If the University has more than one witness, the same protocol will be employed for all subsequent testimonies.
- Next, you will have the opportunity to testify. You are first free to give your account of what happened, and then the panel will have the opportunity to question you. The Council may pose any questions to you it wishes, but you have the right to decline to answer.
- You will be able to call your own witnesses. They will follow the same procedure as the University witnesses.
- ACJC will then recess to determine if it needs to recall any witnesses for additional questioning.
- When that is concluded you will have the chance to give a summary statement and will be asked to enter your plea again.
- The hearing will be adjourned.
- ACJC will deliberate on the matter, first determining whether or not the information presented meets the preponderance standard for each of the alleged violations. If a finding of ‘responsible’ is rendered on any charge, the council will review the student’s judicial record prior to making a recommendation for sanctions.
- ACJC will submit its findings in writing to Dean Levy who will then make the final decision. The decision will be available on the following business day.
Confidentiality:
ACJC values confidentiality in all of its conduct conversations and related business. All conduct conversations are closed, unless a respondent chooses his/her conversation to be open. In either situation, ACJC acts in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Conduct conversations are recorded on audiotape. All documentation, records, and recordings of the conversation will be held in strict confidence by the All-Campus Judicial Council and the Office of the Dean of Students. Responses are recorded so that they may be used in the event of an appeal.
